In Which Age Knows No Boundaries
by haikufishy
Summary: What happens when ages are changed and roles are reversed? Insanity, more than likely. L, Light, Misa, Mello, Near, Matt, Matsuda and others.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything.

* * *

"I don't see why they are here," Light huffed, swinging his chair to face the computer.

L ignored his complaining, responding with the same answer he gave at least fifty times thus far, "they're company and helping with the Kira investigation."

"Bah!" was all Light could say. "They're loud, annoying, and they are _kids_!"

"Hey, assface!" Light grit his teeth in annoyance at being called such a name. "We may be kids, but at least we're way more mature than you!"

With that being said, Light was hosed down with a water gun and spluttered as water went into his eyes, nose, and mouth, "why you little-"

Light had got up out of the chair and started to chase after Mello, which was kind of hard considering he was attached to L by the handcuffs. It didn't help things that Light had to _drag_ L, who was trying to eat his cake, and sitting in a swivel chair.

"-and that would make you?" Near was saying to Mello about his own maturity. Near was spread out on the floor with his toys, his robots and soldier men spread out all over, about to engage in a war.

"I'm going to take these cuffs and-GAH!" Light yelled as tripped and fell over one of Near's toys. L who was in the chair, was munching on his cake without any care that he was being dragged away from the computers or that Light fell on his face.

At that moment Watari and Matt walked into the room, Matt holding a bag of new games he was promised if he tried to keep Mello from messing with Near. Matt was oblivious to the scene as he held out the bag, exclaiming excitedly, "hey guys, who wants to play against me in 'Slug Monsters from the Planet Zlorb?!'"

Light could only groan with pain from falling, "…I…hate…kids…"

"I DEMAND THAT MY ROBOT BE REPLACED! WITH YOUR MONEY! TODAY!" Near bellowed, holding up the broken robot that was missing the head and a leg, its arms were dangling off the body and the robotic voice was malfunctioning.

Mello laughed his head off and L hummed, "…I want ice cream."

"Dinner will be ready in two hours," Watari informed the group as he walked off.

* * *

Later that night, after Light and L went out to replace Near's robot, and the group had finished eating dinner, everyone had retired to their rooms for the night. Light was still sore from tripping over the toy and he complained about it every second he could.

"It's not like we need them here! They can just go back home!"

L pressed two fingers to his forehead, breathing slowly in and out.

"-I swear I can't stand Mello! Who does he think he is? I _never_ used to act like that when I was his age!"

"Light-kun, you are giving me a headache," L said softly, not wanting to raise his voice that would result in his head throbbing more.

"But…but…" Light protested. "He squirted me with that water gun! And he made me trip!"

L was not in the mood and an idea popped into his head, "would Light-kun like to take a bath?"

"REALLY?!" Light exclaimed, hoping he could get some privacy for a while.

"I will be monitoring from the room with the cameras," L informed him. "But you will have the bathroom to yourself."

"YES!" Light jumped up and down, taking the opportunity. Usually L would be in the bathroom with him, separated by the shower curtain, but now he could have semi-privacy and he wasn't going to pass it up.

L dug in his pocket for the key and un-cuffed the younger man. Light twirled his wrist around in a circle and quickly ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut, and cheering loudly. L could hear the faint, 'I'm freeeee!' from the other side of the door. L was glad to have thought of suggesting the bath, meaning it would give him a little quiet time to himself without having to hear Light whining about today's events.

"Oooh," L smiled as he opened his nightstand drawer and pulled out a bag of hard candy. He hopped onto the bed, opened his laptop and sat down in a crouch as he began to watch Light and his bath. He still had to monitor him and that meant keeping the volume up to hear any conversation Light might've had.

Inside the bathroom Light was enjoying his bubble bath. It was somewhat relaxing, minus the fact that L was watching him via cameras.

'L,' his mind growled. 'If it wasn't for him inviting those little brats here then I wouldn't be as annoyed as I am right now.'

Light splashed the water with his hand and began to play with the bubbly suds. He was still angry at Mello and began to plot how he could get back at the little monster.

"Mature my ass," Light grumbled. "He's more of a baby than L is!"

In the other room L frowned and bit the inside of his cheek, 'I am not a baby!'

"How can he call me immature when he acts just as much? He'll never make it as an adult. Stupid kids, they have it easy. They don't know anything about being grown up," Light splashed the water again, sending a bigger wave of soap suds flying into the air.

'I wish they were grown up, that way they would know what it is like. Then they wouldn't act so irresponsible, immature, and…some other word that begins with an i that I am too tired to think of,' Light thought more to himself. He slowly began to push his thoughts away, sleep slowly creeping up on him. Light quickly finished with his bath and drained the tub water, wrapping a towel around his waist and heading to the room. Inside the room he quickly dried and dressed into his pajamas, ignoring the remarks of 'Light-kun has a nice backside,' from L.

With handcuff around his wrist again, Light crawled into the bed and slowly began to drift asleep. L soon followed shortly after, closing his laptop and putting it away, along with the candy. With a click of the lamp, the room was shrouded in darkness and both men fell into a fitful nights sleep.

* * *

The next morning Light awoken to streams of sun hitting him in his eye. He yawned loudly and sat up, his hands going to his eyes to wipe the sleep away. For some reason today felt like it was going to be a better day and Light couldn't wait to get the day started. In fact, he felt jittery. Light was so jittery he couldn't wait any longer to get out of the bed and get the day going. Light was climbing out of the bed when he felt something heavy on his wrist. He looked down and saw that the handcuff was still around his wrist, but his wrist was-

"Small?" Light muttered, shaking his head. "Did I shrink?"

Light looked over at his sleeping companion and screamed loudly. He looked down at his hands more closely this time and saw that they indeed were small. He had big hands when he went to bed and now he had small hands.

"L," his voice squeaked. Squeaked? Light couldn't remember when his voice last squeaked except for a long time ago when he was-

"OH NO! NOOOOO!" Light cried and began to shake L who was curled up, sucking his thumb, and muttering about cake and all sorts of goodies. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAAAKEEE UP!"

"Hu-wha?" L was rudely awaken to Light's shaking. His eyes shot open and was prepared to glare daggers at the rude sleep interrupter, but he noticed several things that were odd. First of all his hair was all over the place, more-so than usual, and he had to push it out of his face. Second was the billowing clothes around him, last time he checked he fit just fine into his clothes. Third was the change of pitch in his voice. L pushed more of his hair out of his face and his eyes went wide as he got a good look at Light.

"LIGHT-KUN HAS SHRUNK!" L squealed. "LIGHT-KUN IS A LEPRECHAUN!"

L's eyes then went wide with fear as he jerked his hand out of the handcuff, which was skinny and small enough to get through without unlocking it. L then tumbled out of the bed, but tripped up in the large clothing that was hanging off of his body. L shimmied out of the pants and began to run around with the large, white shirt hanging off of his small body.

"I AM NOT A LEPRECHAUN! YOU ARE!" Light shouted back at him, mad to be called such a thing. Light watched in amusement as L ran into the wall, his hair getting in his way and blocking his vision.

L laid sprawled out on the floor and twitching slightly, "this…isn't…good."

"What do we do?!"

Before L could answer, there were more screams and several thuds of footsteps from all over. Light jumped out of the bed, after pulling his arm out of the cuffs, and tried to hold his large pajamas up. Light helped L off the floor and both of them made their way out of the room.

"Watari, something is definitely NOT right!"

L and Light looked up to see Near towering over them. The then, small boy, was now taller and grown out more. He looked very confused as he twirled a piece of his white hair around his finger.

"WE'VE BEEN CURSED! CURSED BY THE EVIL WARLOCKS OF DRAYTON!" Matt cried flailing his longer arms about.

"Matt, shut the hell up!" Mello shouted at his friend, walking up to the group.

"Mello! Language!" L scolded and all three turned to look down at L and Light.

Mello looked stunned, "L…is that really you?"

"Of course it is! At least I think so," L began to think. "Unless I am dreaming but I am quite sure that I am awake and-"

"OH MY GOD! SHUT UP!" Light shouted at him, shoving him a bit. "YOU'RE MAKING NO SENSE AT ALL!"

L shoved Light back and the two began to fight with each other, but Light soon gave up seeing his clothes were falling and he didn't want to expose himself to anyone else.

Matt shook his head, "we're grown, they're little-"

"-yeah, it's weird! How did this happen? How COULD it happen?" Mello interrupted him.

Watari soon made his way to where the commotion was and froze on the spot when he saw all five men/boys standing in the hallway. Usually cool and collected, Watari began to lose his composure, "what…how…"

"Watari!" L cried as he ran towards the old man that practically raised him as a child. He needed him then and he sure needed him now.

Watari easily scooped L up into his arms and had to blink a few times. It was deja vu again. Watari already went through L's childhood once and now here they were again. It was like some twisted time warp, but it wasn't. Watari was the same as he was when he went to bed, but everyone else was different. Very different. Their ages had changed drastically.

"What do we do, Watari?!" L continued to cry. "Fix it!"

Watari looked at all of them, studying how older Near, Mello, and Matt appeared. He then looked down to Light who was still trying to hold up his pants. For once he did not know what to do and voiced that to the group.

"There has to be something, I mean people don't change their ages that quickly over night, nor do they grow older or younger so quick," Matt said, running a hand through his hair. "Even though this is pretty cool. I didn't think my wish to grow up this quickly would come true."

Mello rolled his eyes at the young adult, "we need to find out what happened and how to change ourselves back to how we were."

Matt groaned, "aww, man!"

Near nodded his head in agreement with Mello, "I'll get on it…but after I find some more fitting clothes."

Mello, Matt, and Near looked a bit ridiculous standing there in their clothes that were practically shrunken on their bodies. The three young adults took off to ransack through L and Light's wardrobe, which Light protested loudly that even though he was little, he didn't want any of their bratty hands on his stuff.

Watari managed to get L from stopping his crying to which then turned to nagging that he wanted cupcakes. Watari sighed as he tried to figure out what to do. He remembered how L was when he was little and quite frankly, he didn't want to go through it again. L was quite needy and clingy when he wanted to be, especially when he was a kid.

"Misa-Misa doesn't know what happened, but Misa-Misa is still cute as a little girl!"

The three of them looked at Misa who appeared around the corner. Her nightgown was trailing on the ground and her big eyes looked at them with merriment. Watari sighed, that meant three children. Could this get any worse? And without needing an answer, a soft padding of feet echoed the hallway.

"Mister Watari…I had an accident!" Matsuda sobbed as he shuffled further into the hall.

Light laughed, Misa began to ramble at how she wanted to play with dolls, L clung to Watari saying he really wanted a cupcake bad, and Matsuda began to cry even louder.

Yes, it was going to be a long day indeed.

* * *

Notes: Just an idea that popped into my head. I wondered what would happen if roles were reversed. Sorry if this seems to be a little OC. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Until next time! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything

* * *

It wasn't that turning back into a child was _that _bad, but it did have some disadvantages. Some which included the inability to reach things on higher shelves, a tendency to get into trouble, a big tendency to go through several mood swings, and an even bigger tendency to go from one activity to the other within a matter of seconds. All of these things were coming back to Watari and the old man just didn't think he could handle any of it. He was definitely going to need some help.

"You three, get in here," Watari called, getting the young adults attention. Matt ran out of the kitchen and Mello followed soon after, but not without pushing Near out of the way.

"What's up?" Matt chirped, bouncing on the back of his heels.

Watari felt so odd with the situation, seeing the three of them grown, when not too long ago they were young. Watari cleared his throat, "I'm going to need all of your help in watching after them."

"Great," Mello snorted.

"What do you need us to do, Watari?" Near asked, willing to help out. Matt nodded his head.

"Well first things first, Matsuda needs a bath after his," Watari coughed, "accident."

Mello snickered and Matt elbowed him in the stomach. Mello groaned and Watari continued on.

"After that I believe the children are going to need some sort of breakfast. I think cereal should do the trick, but make sure that L has some chocolate muffins, one of you will need to make them for him. Then there is the whole matter of new clothes and probably toys to keep them occupied, unless Near-"

Near shook his head, "no offense Watari, I don't mind helping out, but there is _no way_ I am letting them get their hands on my toys."

Watari sighed, "I'd figured you would say something like that."

"Awww, is Near still a widdle baby?" Mello mocked and Matt elbowed him in the stomach again. "Damnit, Matt!"

"While I am out," Watari continued, feeling a headache coming on, "I'll get a few things but I have a feeling that we'll eventually have to make a trip to the store. I can pretty much buy anything to fit L's needs, but everyone else I wouldn't have a clue."

They all agreed on that.

"So you pretty much want us to babysit them?" Matt asked.

"In the short version, yes. I won't be gone long. Later we'll do some more shopping and we can pick out some new clothes for the three of you. I have a feeling that you're not too pleased about the outfits," Watari smiled a little as the three disgruntled young men picked at their new clothing. They all complained about how Light's clothes were all business attire and L only had white, long sleeved shirts and blue jeans. Near didn't mind L's clothing, seeing that they fit comfortably on him, but he did miss his white pajamas though. Mello thought it would be funny to wear one of Light's suits and walk around 'like I have a stick up my ass,' as he put it. Matt opted for a pair of L's jeans and one of Light's button up dress shirts.

"I'll be back within an hour, two hours the most. I'll bring something suitable back for the three of you to wear until we can go shopping later," Watari said as he bid them farewell.

Near, Mello, and Matt were left standing there unsure of what to do next. Watari had left them in charge of four little kids. Four little kids that were between the ages of seven and nine. A loud crash could be heard from upstairs and all three of them groaned. They had hardly a clue as to what to expect.

"Light-kun didn't have to break the vase."

"It wasn't my fault! I can't walk in these pants anymore!" Light shouted, broken vase pieces surrounding him.

Matsuda was still crying about his accident and Misa had wandered off in search of some dolls to play with. Light and L were starting to get into another argument, but luckily the three adults came bounding up the stairs to diffuse the situation.

"Watari said that Matsuda is going to need a bath," Near repeated the instructions. "So…who wants to do that?"

"Not me," both Matt and Mello chimed together.

Near sighed, "I'm not doing it either. We'll have to play for it."

After several rounds of rock, paper, scissors, Matt had to give Matsuda his bath. Matt took Matsuda by the hand and led him to the bathroom, the one in L's and Light's shared room. All that was left was making sure they got breakfast to each kid.

"I demand that someone gives me something sugary to eat, right this second!" L declared, holding up a small finger and stomping his foot.

"Mello, go make L some muffins," Near ordered him.

Mello gaped at the white-haired man, "excuse me? I don't have to do what you say! I'm practically 20 years old now!"

"And? You like chocolate, L likes chocolate, it only makes sense. Go make him some chocolate muffins or I'll report this to Watari," Near threatened.

"Chocolate muffins?" L put his thumb to his mouth in thought, but pulled it away and waved his arms around crazily. "L WANTS CHOCOLATE MUFFINS!"

Mello looked down at the spazzing child, "since when do you speak in third person?"

"L WANTS CHOCOLATE MUFFINS! NOW!" L screamed as he demanded that chocolate muffins be handed to him immediately.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh!" Mello tried to get him to shut up. Mello and L headed down to the kitchen and that only left Near with Light and Misa. Speaking of which…

"Where did Misa go?" Near asked Light, who gave up on trying to hold his pants up, which now pooled around his ankles. Light shrugged his shoulders.

"Get your pants and let's go," Near told him and Light frowned up at him.

"They keep falling!"

Near had an idea as he told Light to stay put. He quickly shuffled off to his room, grabbed his old pj bottoms that did fit him the night and day before, and returned back. He tossed them at Light who put them on. They fit, for the most part.

"Better?"

"I suppose, I mean if you don't count how disgusting wearing someone else's clothes that they have been wearing for how many days in a row is," Light rambled on. Near rolled his eyes and began to look for Misa, which wasn't too hard. The little girl had given up on her search for dolls and was now in one of the empty rooms watching television. Near told her that they were going to have breakfast and Misa quickly ran out the room, saying that she was starving.

Near, Light, and Misa made their way down to the kitchen to find that Mello had L's muffins in the oven. L was somewhat crouched down in one of the chairs. His right leg was dangling off the chair as he swung it back and forth, humming a little song to himself.

"How did you get him to be so quiet?" Near asked.

Mello shrugged, putting the mixing bowl into the sink, "I let him eat some batter."

"Eeeww!" Light wrinkled his nose. "L, you're going to be 500 pounds!"

"No, I don't believe so," L said, throwing the batter-less spoon at Light, which bounced off his forehead.

Light fell to the floor, clutching his forehead, and crying, "that hurt! Why did you do that?! My heeeaaaad!"

"What did you do to Misa's Light?!" Misa cried seeing Light on the floor, grimacing in pain.

L ignored the screeching Misa and moaning Light as he anxiously awaited the chocolate muffins, asking every 30 seconds, on the dot, if they were done yet. Mello was becoming quite frustrated and had a bad feeling that the muffin batter wouldn't subdue L for long.

"L, calm down, they'll be done soon," Mello griped, leaning against the counter.

"Yes, but are they done now?" L pondered, casting a woeful eye in the direction of the oven.

Mello sighed heavily and pushed himself off of the counter, "I can't deal with him anymore! NEAR!"

Near, who was standing right there, winced as his ear drum shattered, "you don't have to yell, Mello, I'm right here."

"I know that," Mello huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're pretty L-like, you watch over him. I'm going to get some fresh air."

"But Watari said-"

"I don't care, I'm not listening!" Mello plugged his fingers into his ears as he walked out the kitchen.

"I guess that means I'm the best candidate to be L's successor," Near smirked and he heard Mello stop in his tracks and quickly turn around. Loud footsteps were heard as they plodded their way back to the kitchen.

"That's not what I meant!" Mello shouted, startling the children. Mello and Near began to bicker back and forth with each other. L just sat there watching, wondering if he should just go ahead and choose Matt for his successor, but then Matt would probably turn each case into a potential video game scenario. Still…it was better than Mello and Near going at it.

Meanwhile Misa was trying to kiss Light's 'boo-boo' but Light was pushing her away, all his adult reasoning leaving him as his child-like side began to take over, "nooo, you're a girl and you have cooties!"

"Misa does not have cooties!" Misa tried again to kiss Light's forehead, but her lips were met with the cold, tiled floor.

Light rolled out of the way and tried to climb on L's chair but L quickly stuck his foot out, kicking Light off the chair and sending him toppling on top of Misa.

The kitchen was a chaotic mess. Mello and Near were now pulling at each other's hair, rolling around on the floor, Misa was chasing Light around making smooch noises, and L continued his constant 'are the muffins done?' questioning.

When Matt walked into the kitchen with a clean and dry-eyed Matsuda, he didn't know what to make of the situation. He shook his head and sighed, looking down at Matsuda, "want some cereal?"

Matsuda nodded his head.

"Wanna play video games and eat the cereal?"

Another nod.

"Sounds like a great plan," Matt agreed and quickly gathered up two bowls, spoons, a box of cereal and some milk. Him and Matsuda left the kitchen, leaving the five loonies to their own craziness.

* * *

Watari had finally returned from shopping. He had a bag of clothes in one hand and a few miscellaneous items in another bag. Shopping wasn't that hard, but with the lines and people, it did take a good while to get back home. Watari had a feeling that there wouldn't be peace and quiet when he entered the building, but he held his breath and wished for the best.

The door opened and Watari saw no one inside. He put the bags down and could hear noises coming from the kitchen area. Watari took another deep breath and made his way over to the kitchen, only to find it in complete disarray.

Mello and Near were still fighting with each other, physically and verbally. Misa had somehow pinned Light to the floor and was kissing his face, leaving no piece of skin untouched, and L was sitting on the floor, a pan of muffins by his feet and chocolate smeared all over his face. L looked up, his chocolate smeared face lighting up and eyes glistening with happiness. He held out two hands, which were clenched with chocolate muffin particles squished together, "do you want some muffins, Watari?!"

* * *

Notes: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this thus far. I'll try and have another chapter up sometime soon. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything.

* * *

"AHEM!"

Watari cleared his throat and all the bustling in the kitchen seemed to come to a cease.

"Near, let go of Mello's hair. Mello, get your foot out of Near's face. Misa please get off of Light. L…" Watari shook his head at the small L who was still stuffing his face with the warm, chocolate muffins. "L…just keep eating."

"How come L doesn't get in trouble?" Misa pouted as she climbed off of Light. Light breathed in and felt oxygen return back to his lungs.

"You've never seen L when he's not had a good dose of sugar," Watari explained and L nodded his head, half paying attention, but knowing it had something to do with him and sugar.

"Hmph!" Misa pouted some more.

"Where is Matt and Matsuda?" Watari asked, not seeing either of them in the kitchen. A round of 'I don't know' and 'no clue' was given as response. Watari sent Mello to go find them and bring them back so he could talk to them all.

Mello returned after a few minutes with both Matt and Matsuda. Matsuda spotted L eating chocolate muffins and he went running towards him, "CHOCOLATE MUFFINS, I WANT SOME TOO!"

L, seeing that his muffins were in danger, leapt to his feet and went charging towards Matsuda, "GWAAAARRR!"

"AAAAHHHHH!" Matsuda screamed as he skidded to a halt, quickly turning around from the crazed L. "I'M SORRY! THEY'RE YOURS! HAVE THEM!"

L, satisfied with that answer, went back to his muffins. He plopped himself down into his usual sitting position and merrily went on his way, finishing the batch of muffins.

"Are we done now?" Watari asked, making a mental note to buy lots of aspirin for his headache. Nods were given and Watari continued. "We need to go to the store to buy clothes for everyone. I was able to get an outfit for the children, but I figured it would be best if they picked out outfits that they would like instead. I also decided that the three of you," Watari motioned to the young adults, "could pick out your own outfits too. I'm sure you don't want to be stuck wearing L and Light's clothing until we fix this problem."

"So we're going to the mall?" Matt asked and a loud gasp was heard from two people.

"MISA LOVES THE MALL!"

"I'M NOT GOING!"

"You can't stay here unsupervised," Near responded.

L crossed his arms over his chest, "not too long ago I was older than all of you, minus Watari, so I think I _can _stay here by myself."

"L, you're going," Watari replied firmly.

L glared up at the older man and challenged him, "no, I'm not."

"You're going, even if I have to drag you through the mall."

"No, I'm not."

Watari walked over to him and crouched down, his facial expression firm. He whispered so softly but with authority in his voice where only L could hear him, "_Lawliet_…you. are. going."

"Fine!" L huffed and sulked as Watari stood up straight and walked away from him.

"Everyone clean up, get ready, because we are leaving in about 20 minutes," Watari announced to them all. "We also need to be ready for when the other task force members come in, there's going to be some explaining to do."

"Dad! I forgot all about him!" Light's face changed from boredom to realization that his parents didn't know what happened to him. Light's face changed again to horror, "oh no…Mom. If she found out how old I really am…"

Light shuddered as he pictured his Mom squealing, hugging, kissing, and cuddling him like a little baby. 'Oh my widdle-widdle Light is a baby again!' Light made a noise of disgust and tried to get the thoughts out of his mind.

"Get to it," Watari clapped his hands and everyone took off to get ready, except L who was trying to eat the last of the muffins. Watari sighed and walked back over to him. He reached down, picked up the protesting boy, and carried him upstairs.

"NOOO! MY MUFFINS!"

"They were just crumbs, L."

L sobbed, "but…delicious crumbs."

20 minutes later, and one scrubbed down and clean L, everyone was gathered back downstairs. Watari had bought the kids some new outfits. Misa had a red dress on with little red shorts on underneath, some matching sandals on her feet. Matsuda had a blue shirt with blue shorts and white tennis shoes. Light had a dark blue polo shirt on with khaki pants and little dress shoes. Finally L had some denim jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Where are the sleeves?!" L cried in outrage, his pale arms exposed.

"They didn't have any, we'll try and find some when we go out," Watari explained. Near, Mello, and Matt were wrestling with L, trying to get the pair of sandals onto his feet. Mello was holding L and Near was trying to get the sandals on while Matt held his legs down. This took about five minutes and L _finally _had something on his feet.

"L," Mello grunted, "you're going to be a big reason why none of us will want to have kids in the future."

L didn't say anything but glared at everyone who was becoming a traitor to him. First Watari who wouldn't let him have the crumbs and was making him go to the mall. Now all three of his potential successors for forcing sandals on his feet. It wasn't becoming a really great day.

"Let me go over a few rules before we go," Watari said as he started to tick them off his fingers. "No running in the mall, no wandering off in the mall, no loud noises, no fighting, no touching things that shouldn't be touched. Also please address L as Ryuzaki, we don't need anyone finding out who he really is. I think that covers the basics of it. Everyone understand?"

"Yes," they chorused.

"Good, let's go," Watari grabbed his keys and made sure he had his wallet with him. They all exited the building and went to the car which was big enough to fit all of them inside.

The ride wasn't too bad, except for Misa complaining that she wanted to sit by Light and Light crying that he didn't want to sit by Misa. Watari had Misa and Light separated by Matt. Mello, Matsuda and L sat in the way back, while Near sat up front with Watari.

"Why does stupid Near get to sit up front?" Mello complained.

"For one I'm not stupid," Near retorted, staring out the window.

Watari gripped the steering wheel firmly, "to keep you two separated that way I am not distracted and wind up crashing the car."

Matt snorted, his video game making little beeps and buzzes as he played.

The group eventually made it to the mall, safely, and began to unload out of the car. Watari told the children to buddy up and Misa made a move for Light, but Light was saved by L who quickly grabbed his hand and ran up to walk beside Near. Misa felt Matsuda grab her hand and she was going to protest but Matsuda began to swing her hand back and forth and Misa giggled. They began to skip together, singing a song until they reached the front doors to the mall.

"Please let this be quick and painless…please let this be quick and painless…" Watari muttered over and over to himself before opening the doors and letting the group inside.

The mall was crowded with people and Watari made sure that each paired child was in the middle with two of them. Near and Matt held onto L and Light's hand while Watari and Mello held onto Matsuda and Misa's.

"We'll get the clothes out of the way and then I'll take the children to get some activities and the three of you can go shopping for yourselves. We'll meet up in the food court and have some lunch, and then go get some groceries and finally home," Watari explained the plan for the outing.

There was no argument as the group made their way to the nearest store that had a bunch of children's clothing. It didn't take long as Light was able to pick out the clothes he liked. Misa was having fun looking at all the cute little outfits and even started to coordinate Matsuda's outfits and giving her opinion on them. L refused to walk around the store and sat down on one of the little benches that was in said store. Watari figured L would behave like that and he went about picking out pairs of jeans, underwear, and even managed to find some white, long sleeved shirts that would fit him.

Meanwhile Matt and Mello were outside of the store goofing around. Near had to watch over Matsuda and Misa and Light, but Light seemed to be the more mature one out of the group of children.

"So, what do we do?" Matt asked, putting his Gameboy into his pocket.

Mello shrugged, "I don't know. I think we are suppose to stand here, look cool and check girls out."

"That's cool," Matt said as he leaned back against the sitting bench. A few girls walked by but hardly paid them any attention. After five minutes the redhead started to get bored.

"This sucks."

"Tell me about it, where's all the hot chicks?" Mello complained, shifting from one foot to the other.

More and more people continued to walk by but the only attention they got was from an old man who gave them a perverted smile and a wink. Both Matt and Mello felt their stomachs turn and gave each other horrified looks.

"Maybe…we shouldn't act like we are cool…" Mello shuddered.

Matt nodded his head and gagged, "yeah, I didn't know old people were so-"

"-disgusting," Mello finished for him. "I mean minus Watari because he is cool and Roger...sometimes..."

"Can we just…not talk about this," Matt's face looked paler and tinted with green, as if he was about to hurl chunks all over the place. Mello, not wanting to be the victim of a hurl attack, remained silent until the group inside was done shopping.

"Misa can't wait until Misa gets to wear her pretty clothes," Misa chimed happily, clutching a small bag of accessories to go with her clothing. Matsuda was disappointed because he wanted accessories as well, but was denied them because a pink bow wouldn't be appropriate in a little boy's hair.

Near looked frazzled as he joined Matt on the bench. Matt smirked at him before giving him a clumsy pat on the head. Watari reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out one of his credit cards and handed it to Matt. Matt's eyes widened and his mouth opened into a large 'o' of surprise.

"This is for you three to go shopping," Watari explained, pocketing his wallet. "Feel free to buy clothing for yourselves and anything else, within reason."

"…Watari…" Mello breathed, looking down at the shiny credit card. "Thank you."

"Mello, enough with the dramatics," Watari sighed. "Please be considerate of each other and no rushing through the stores. Give everyone a chance to make their own purchases without any hassle."

They nodded.

"Remember, we'll meet in the food court for lunch and then we'll have to go to the grocery store," Watari looked down at his watch, it was barely noon. "No more than an hour, I don't want to be here all day."

The young adults nodded and then scampered off in search of clothing stores. Watari looked down at the four children who were talking over each other about their new clothes and what else they would be getting. So far they were behaving, but things always had a way of changing.

* * *

Notes: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and read this story. I appreciate it. :)

I just wanted to make another quick note that even though the foursome of kiddies still have their memories, they'll be regressing back to their child-like state of mind slowly. Just wanted to make note of that so no one is like "why are they acting like retards when they were adults not too long ago?" Haha!

Also, how they get back to their former selves will come into play...eventually. But you can't have a story without having a little fun.

Next chapter: Mello, Matt, and Near go shopping! Yay! So it's all about them and whatever mischief they happen to get into. :D


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything.

* * *

"I still can't believe Watari left us his credit card," Mello was still in awe and then frowned in disappointment as Matt pocketed it.

The three young adults were walking down one of the corridors to the mall, glancing at the stores that they passed. They all came to a clear consensus that Near should probably go first and get his clothing, since it wouldn't take long. However, it turned out that it did take a while considering that Near was very adamant that he have _only _white pajamas. Luckily for him he was able to find a small store that did have white pj's. Not the type that were in his normal wardrobe, but they were close enough.

Next Matt and Mello were able to find a store that sold clothes that was appealing to both of them. Near wrinkled his nose at all the dark clothing. The leathers, vinyl and different assortments of gothic clothing wasn't very appealing and it frightened him a little.

"Hey, what do you think of this?" Mello held up a pair of leather pants and a black vest. Matt laughed and his eye caught sight of a striped black and red shirt and then a black and white one, both long sleeved. He smiled and picked them both up and saw a pair of orange goggles on the next rack.

"Hmm…" Matt examined them and moved to the counter so he could purchase them. Mello was grabbing a pair of leather gloves and tossed a pair to Matt who lifted up an eyebrow but shrugged and put them on top of the pile.

"And you dare laugh at what I picked out?" Mello snorted looking down at Matt's purchases. Matt rolled his eyes and pulled out the credit card, paying for the items. The cashier bagged them and Matt tossed the bag at Mello, who tossed the bag at Near.

"Carry this," Mello grunted and stomped out of the store. Matt gave Near a sympathetic look, who in return glared at Mello, dragging the bags behind him. If Mello didn't stop, Near was going to make the blonde be humiliated in front of all the people at the mall.

The threesome walked a bit more and came across a more casual men's store and entered. Mello said that Near needed some decent clothing that wasn't pajamas. Near protested that he didn't need any clothing outside of what he had selected, but when Mello thrust a pair of jeans and a simple blue top at him, Near reasoned that maybe, just _maybe _it wouldn't hurt to wear something different. After all, he was wearing L's clothing and it wasn't _that _bad.

Near went to the dressing room to try them on while Matt started pulling different types of jeans off the clothing racks. By the time Near was finished trying on the jeans and shirt he saw that Mello and Matt had a large pile of jeans and shirts of their own.

"Do you really think all of that is necessary?" Near asked, holding the two items close to his body. "I mean…whose to say we are going to be like this forever?"

Matt sighed, "you know…he is right."

Matt began to put some things back and Mello followed behind him.

"Well, did you like it?" Mello indicated to the jeans and blue shirt. Near gave a semi-nod of his head. Mello tossed another pair of jeans at him and a different colored shirt, this one was gray colored instead. Near didn't complain but instead smiled a little, thinking that Mello was a bit considerate to acknowledge that the white haired adult did like neutral colors.

"Alright, let's pay for these, get some shoes and use the bathroom. I have to pee like no one's business," Matt announced a little too loudly, getting a few looks from some other shoppers in the store. "What are you looking at?!"

The shoppers dropped their potential purchases and left the store, somewhat scared of the redhead. Mello grabbed the clothes and laughed, "nice going there, Matt."

"What? They were staring at me, I didn't like it," Matt complained, pulling out the credit card again. Near waited outside for them, watching the other bags of clothing that they had bought.

Soon the three of them were at the shoe store and both Matt and Mello were having fun trying on boots. Near wanted a pair of slippers but settled on some white tennis shoes instead. They were at least two sizes too big on him and flopped off of his feet, but he didn't mind.

Once they were finished there they had reached the restrooms and Mello shoved the door open, almost smacking an older man in the face. The older man grumbled about how disrespectful this generation of kids were and stomped off.

"Hey Matt, I bet mine is bigger," Mello grinned, unzipping his pants.

Matt looked outraged for a minute before unzipping his own pants and standing over the urinal, "no way! Mine is bigger!"

"Let me see it then," Mello suggested, looking down at Matt's crotch.

Matt's hand froze on the zipper and he shook his head, "no way, look at your own!"

"I did! I'm quite proud of it!"

"Good, you're not looking at mine!"

Mello sighed, "whatever, you're just jealous."

Mello emptied his bladder and tried to glance over at Matt, but Matt kept himself turned so Mello couldn't look. It disturbed him but intrigued him a little as well. He didn't know Mello swung that way and he made it known to him.

"Mello, I didn't know you were gay."

Near snickered as he stood at the very end of the urinals, quickly using it and then going over to wash his hands.

Mello's eyebrow twitched and he finished up, zipping his pants and flushing the urinal, "I am not gay!"

"Then why do you want to see it so bad?" Matt pressed on.

"I was just joking," Mello argued, his face turning red.

"Mmhmm…sure you were," Matt grinned at him and then leaned close to where his face was almost pressed up against Mello's. "Maybe…later tonight…I'll let you look at it."

"Eeeww! Get off of me," Mello shoved Matt who stumbled back a little. "You're the one who is gay now!"

"I think both of you are gay," Near said, not quite finished with his hand washing routine.

"Nobody asked you, Near," Mello glared at him. "Maybe you're gay."

"Maybe I am," Near reached for the paper towel, drying his hands and then using it to turn the sink taps off. "Is that a problem for you, Mello?"

Mello walked over to the sink, shoving Matt out the way who was trying to wash his hands next, "you're bluffing."

"Am I?" Near looked dead at him, his face emotionless. Near picked up the bags and kicked the door open, refusing to touch it.

When the door closed Matt looked at Mello and then back at the door, pondering, "you know…if he wasn't bluffing…"

Matt grinned and made his way towards the door, but Mello grabbed the back of his shirt collar and pulled him back, "shut up and wash your hands."

"You're such a jealous baby," Matt grumbled, pushing Mello out the way so he could wash his own hands.

"I'm not a jealous baby!" Mello shouted at him before storming out the bathroom.

Matt sighed and quickly finished up so he could keep an eye on the jealous baby known as Mello.

"Alright, let's go to the-"

"GAME STORE! GAME STORE! GAAAAMEEE STOOORREEE!" Matt cried as he grabbed Mello by the shirt and started to tug him towards the beloved game store.

Near groaned as he dragged the bags behind him, following poor Mello who was being tugged by a game-loving Matt. They weren't in there very long, unless one considers twenty minutes of non-stop game shopping long. By the time they exited the game shop, Matt was carrying three bags. The bag had a brand new game system with memory cards, controllers, and all other goodies. The other bag held everything else from new games for his new system and games for his other systems. He couldn't wait to play them all, especially 'Wrath of the Legless Mummy II.'

"Can we _please _find Watari and the others now?" Near begged the other two. Mello had no problem with that but Matt wanted to make a pit stop at the game store and left Near and Mello with carrying all the other bags.

Mello rolled his eyes at Near as he took one of the bags from him, "you're such a weakling."

Near was now left with four bags while Mello had about five. Near continued to groan and moan and Mello took another bag. Near figured if he kept on pestering Mello, that he would soon be rid of all his bags. After a few more minutes of Near's pestering, Mello did cave and took all the other bags, leaving Near with only one.

'Works every time,' Near grinned to himself, twirling a piece of hair with his free hand while his other hand carried only one bag, which happened to be the lightest.

"Gonna…fall…can't…carry…" Mello grunted as the pile of bags began to slip and fall on top of him.

"Help…me…" Mello called out as the bags began to suffocate him.

Matt, who was excitedly digging through his bags of goodies, looked up at Near, "did you hear something?"

Near looked over his shoulder and saw Mello under a ton of bags. He turned around and shrugged, "no."

"Okay."

The two walked off, leaving poor Mello to suffocate under a mountain of shopping bags.

* * *

A/N: Poor Mello, haha! Sorry this chapter took a little while. I was collecting my thoughts and whatnot. I don't like extremely long chapters or extremely short chapters, so I try to find a nice happy medium, which happens to be around five pages. So sorry if it seems like the mall thing is dragging. It'll be over by next chapter and pick up. :)

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed! I'll try to have something up by the end of this week or sooner. :D


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything.

* * *

Misa liked dolls. Misa liked to play with dolls. Although the one thing bugging Misa at the moment was that none of the dolls were very appealing to her.

"Where are all the ones with pins and needles in them?" Misa pouted, looking at the dolls with blonde hair, plastic bodies that had bright colorful clothing on them.

"This is a toy store, not a voodoo death shop," L muttered as he walked past her, picking up a stuffed dog that was brown and had a black circle around its left eye.

"That dog looks like you, Ryuzaki!" Matsuda exclaimed, digging in the pile of stuffed animals. He dug out another dog that was all white. "Oooh…this looks like that person with the white hair-"

L took the white dog from him and mumbled something about getting it for Near. Matsuda eventually found something more appealing than the stuffed animals. It was a clown doll that would sing songs and its face would light up and flash different colored lights if you squeezed its belly with just the right amount of pressure.

Light was wandering about the store, bored with everything in it, until he came across the arts and crafts section. His eyes began to water and glisten as he spotted a big box that was labeled 'MEGA ART SET!' Inside contained crayons, colored pencils, water colored paints, brushes, paper, an easel, and various other art tools and stickers to make pretty things with. He pulled out the big box and began to drag it but stopped as another box caught his eye. With a little smirk he grabbed that box as well and walked to the front of the store, waiting for the others to finish.

"Is Light-kun finished?" L questioned him, glancing down at the two big boxes at the other boys feet. Light nodded his head in response. L sucked at his thumb and continued his interrogation.

"Why does Light-kun have a 'Beads, Jewels, and More' kit?"

Light sighed with frustration, "because I can. Okay?"

"Sure," L shrugged and then shoved a stuffed animal into Light's chest. "I picked this out for Light-kun."

Light stared down at the stuffed elephant with its innocent and cute face, "are you trying to imply something?"

"What do you mean?" L looked confused, holding his own stuffed dog close to him.

"Are you trying to say that I'm fat?" Light gripped the elephant tighter, wishing to make those beady eyes pop out of the stuffing.

L tilted his head, "fat? No. Does Light-kun not like his present?"

"YOU GAVE ME AN ELEPHANT! I'M NOT AN ELEPHANT!" Light shouted, squeezing the elephant tighter.

"Yes," L paused and looked around the store distracted for a bit but returning his attention back to Light, who was pretty killing the poor stuffed elephant. "Elephants are quite powerful."

With that, L walked off to find something else to get in the toy store. Light stood there baffled taking in that simple sentence. He then began to shout again, the poor elephant beyond dead if it was real, "ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY THAT I'M WHO YOU THINK I AM WHICH I'M NOT?! WELL? ANSWER ME!"

"Boy Yagami, I thought you might be a little nuts, but I didn't think you would be this nutty," Matt remarked as he walked up behind the angry boy.

Light turned to face the red-headed adult and was almost trampled over as Near shoved past him, saying something about finding the newest action figure that could shoot mini laser beams out of its eyes.

"I'm not nutty!" Light protested and released his death hold on the poor elephant.

"Sure, whatever you say," Matt laughed as he went to chase after Near and to find Watari.

"What does Matsu think of this?" Misa held up a box that contained a mannequin head, blonde hair, with all sorts of makeover accessories. Matsuda looked over and gave a loud squeal, throwing the various colored small balls he had in his arms, into the air.

"Is that the one with the different colored clip-on extensions and five fabulous lip colors that can be used as eye shadow?!"

Misa nodded her head excitedly and jabbed her finger at the box, "and it comes with different styling tools so we can curl, crimp, and straighten her hair!"

Matsuda squealed some more and started discussing their plans to makeover the doll head that was inside the box. The two fashionistas took off to the next aisle where they pulled out something similar to an Easy Bake Oven and began discussing the big tea party they would host with the dolls and everyone else. This included all the tasty treats they would make with the little oven.

"This is going to be so great, let's go get some more dolls so we can have lots of guests!" Matsuda suggested and Misa nodded her head. Her previous anger over not having the type of 'gothic dolls' gone as her more child-like and innocent mind began to take over. It didn't help that Matsuda's personality was very addicting as well.

* * *

Near was on the hunt and it didn't take him long to find the action figure that he wanted. He was about to grab it when another hand shot out of nowhere. Near glared at the hand and then looked at the owner of said hand.

"Excuse me," Near said politely, but anyone who knew Near, knew that there was a hidden bite underneath it.

"Oh, sorry, I was just getting this," the person said. Said person was younger than Near by several years.

"As was I," Near said calmly. "I believe I was here first though."

The person, rather kid, gave Near an ugly look, "I don't care, I'm getting this robot. Besides, you're…old."

"Old?" Near questioned and then drew his hand back. He began to twirl a piece of hair around his fingers.

"Yeah, you have white hair. You're old, now get out of my way! The robot is mine, you don't need it," the kid tried to shove Near over, but Near didn't budge.

"The color of my hair should not be a big determination of my age, considering that there are high chances that people that are younger get premature gray hairs faster than others," Near began to ramble off a long explanation of how this was true.

The kid seemed to zone out for a bit and Near went to grab at the robot but the kid was quick to jolt out of his stupor and gave Near an even harder shove, "IT IS MINE!"

Near was about to open his mouth and say something, but luck was on his side when an un-asked distraction appeared out of nowhere.

"THERE YOU ARE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Standing at the front of the store was Mello, who tossed the bags onto the floor, shoving a pointed finger out in front of him. His eyes locked on Near as he began to charge at the white-haired toy lover.

"I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER UNSPEAKABLE TORTURE!!"

The kid, not knowing that Mello was talking Near, began to shake in his shoes. His eyes were wide and the closer that Mello got, the more fearful the kid became. Near, seeing that the kid was extremely distracted, grabbed a hold of the robot and quickly shuffled out of the aisle.

"I'm sorry, don't hurt me!" the kid cried as Mello ran closer to him, dropping to his knees and covering his head with his arms. Mello plowed past the kid, running down the rest of the aisle and then making a sharp left into the other one.

"Whaa-" the scared kid lifted his head up and shakily stood up on his two legs. Seeing that he wasn't the source of Mello's rage, the kid continued with his shopping. He smiled to himself not seeing Near anywhere and went to grab for the robot, but gave a strangled noise seeing that it was gone.

"Noooo! I saved all my allowance for that robot and now it is gone!" the kid cried and took off running. "MOMMY! MOMMY! SOME OLD MAN STOLE MY ROBOT! WAAAAAH!!"

Light was watching all of this with boredom and sighed loudly, tapping his foot against the floor, his arms crossed over his chest. He blew some of his hair out of his face and sighed again, "can we please go now? I'm tired of being here."

"Is that all you're getting?"

Light looked up to see Matt standing over him, game bags in hand. Light nodded his head and Matt placed his bags down, "watch these for me, kid."

"Don't call me-"

But Matt was scooping up Light's purchases and putting them on the check-out counter. The cashier, who was somewhat traumatized by all these weird people in the store, quickly rang up all of Light's art supplies and such.

"Are you going to pay for that too?" the cashier remarked, pointing at the stuffed elephant that was still in Light's hand.

Light looked down at the elephant, contemplating throwing it across the store, but shrugged and handed it up to Matt, "sure."

Matt gave it to the cashier and the cashier rang it up. Matt then handed the cashier Watari's credit card and the cashier ran it through, giving him a receipt once it cleared. She handed Matt the bags and told him to have a nice day. Matt shoved the credit card and receipt into his pocket and picked up his gaming bags with his free hand. It was quite a few bags, but it wasn't too much to handle.

"Want to get something to eat while we wait for them? Better to wait in the food court then in here, seems safer," Matt suggested.

"Sure," Light agreed and Matt started to walk off but Light stopped him. "Hang on a sec."

Matt stopped and Light dug through the bags and pulled out the stuffed animal, safely tucking it under his arm, "okay, let's go."

Matt gave him a look but continued to walk out of the store with Light, both heading to the food court where they could sit down and relax in peace for at least five minutes if they were lucky.

* * *

"I believe we are about done here," Watari said as he held a growing stack of board games and puzzles in his arms. Watari carried the load of items as L carefully selected the games and puzzles he wanted. There was Chess, Checkers, Scrabble, some trivia games, thousand and more pieced puzzles, and little booklets of puzzles that he could do back at headquarters.

"Yes, I agree," L said as he stared at the stack in Watari's arms. He didn't want Watari to hurt himself, he also didn't want to take up too much more time. Watari led L over to the check-out counter and placed the stack down. Watari waited for L to hobble over, the little boy blinded temporarily by his thick, black hair falling into his face. L couldn't do anything but try and blow it out of the way, his arms were filled with various stuffed animals that he had wanted.

"Can't…see…" L grumbled and Watari met him the rest of the way, taking the stuffed animals away from him. He placed them on the counter and told the cashier not to ring it up just yet, that there was more. Watari told L to stay where he was and began to gather up everyone else.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR I WILL RIP APART YOUR LIMBS AND FEED THEM TO YOU-AAAAAHHH!" Mello yelled but then began to cry as his foot landed on one of the several small balls Matsuda had flung into the air. Mello rolled forward a few inches, trying to catch his balance, but he fell straight onto his back, his legs shooting up into the air.

"I believe Watari is wanting us to leave now," Near said, not paying any attention to Mello's twitching body as he stepped over him.

Mello wheezed, "damn…you…"

As soon as everyone was gathered, Watari had all the items placed on the counter, well some had to wait as the cashier rang up a lot of items. But once it was paid for, and in bags, Watari distributed the bags evenly so everyone could carry some. Mello had to carry all the shopping clothes bags, including the kids and his, Near's and Matt's. He struggled along the way but managed.

"Where's Light-kun?" L asked, dragging his bags across the floor. He was trying not to hold them so much by the handles but it was proving difficult, so he had to let them drag.

Watari glanced at the group and gave a head count and noticed that Light wasn't there, neither was Matt. Watari sighed and the group quickly hurried over to the food court and to Watari's relief, Light was with Matt. Both of them were enjoying a refreshing cold drink and some food.

"LIGHT-KUN!" L shouted in happiness as he let go of his bags and ran towards the other boy.

Light turned his head and his cheeks went red as L stumbled his way over. He never really seen L run before, so it was an amusing sight. L was climbing into the seat next to Light but was slipping. Light reached over and helped L up into the seat and L sat in his usual crouch.

"Light-kun we found you," L stated the obvious.

"Joy," Light replied sarcastically, taking a sip of his drink.

"Light-kun has his elephant," L smiled even brighter at this. The elephant was sitting in Light's lap, one hand clenched in the soft, squishy material of it. Light just nodded his head and L seemed pleased with that.

Matt saw the exhausted look on Watari's face and he quickly leapt to his feet, "Watari, let me help you with that. You go sit down, you look like you're about to pass out."

Watari handed the bags over to Matt and gratefully sat down in one of the empty chairs at the table. He sighed as he slumped down into the chair, thankful to be off of his feet. Everyone else followed suit, going to the next empty table and occupying the seats. Lots of bags were littered about their feet and they still had to run them to the car.

"We still have to go grocery shopping," Watari groaned to himself. "I feel like I could take a nap."

Matsuda swirled around in his chair and spoke boldly, "does Watari have to take a nap because he's really old?"

"Matsu!" Misa gasped, reaching over to slap her hand over his mouth. "You shouldn't say things like that!"

"Yes, I need a nap because I am really old," Watari half-joked to himself. He wasn't really offended cause he knew he was old, but not that old. Plus he did need a nap, he needed to recuperate from the day.

Matt stood there and glanced over at Near who was busy playing with his new robot and a white dog stuffed animal that L had found for him. Mello was half laying on the table, complaining that his arms could fall off at any moment. The children looked antsy as they chattered with each other, Matsuda being the loudest. It didn't take a genius to tell that they were hungry and would need some lunch.

"I'll get you guys something to eat, come on Mello," Matt walked up to him and pulled him up by his arm.

Mello looked outraged, "but…my arms!"

"You'll live, come on," Matt pulled at him again and they both walked over to one of the food stations to get some lunch for everyone.

After ten minutes they both returned with a couple of trays of food and drinks. They distributed the food and drinks out to everyone and were able to sit down and eat their meal in peace. Matt also had to return the credit card, even though he didn't want to. He enjoyed having it in his pocket and spending it when needed. Soon everyone finished their lunches and were dragging the bags out to the car. The trunk of the car was stuffed to the max but they managed to get everything inside.

The trip to the grocery store was uneventful. Mello and Matt had piled the four children into the basket of one cart, while Near pushed the other cart. Watari walked down every aisle, throwing things into Near's cart. There were many complaints about the items going inside the cart.

"I don't like spicy foods!"

"I can't eat tomatoes, they are nasty!"

"You didn't get the chocolate sauce, I need the chocolate sauce!"

"Can someone PLEASE get something healthy? I'm not going to be eating artificial crap."

When they entered the cereal aisle a huge fight broke out over what cereal to get. Light wanted something healthy, Misa wanted something colorful, Matsuda liked marshmallows, and L started a ten minute theory about how all the sugars and artificial flavoring in one cereal box is just as worse as cake, therefore he should have a slice of cake because it would be more benefiting to him. Needless to say, everyone got their own box of cereal and L was promised a trip to the bakery at the back of the store before leaving.

Lunches were picked out along with dinners. None of them had any major food allergies, except L who still firmly believed that anything that wasn't sweet, such as vegetables, constituted as being part of food allergies for him. Near's cart was pretty loaded with food, drinks, and other items. They made a quick stop to the bakery and L's eyes widened and glistened with joy.

"I want five of those," he pointed to the éclairs. "Oh and two batches of cupcakes."

The baker looked surprised at first but Matt mouthed, 'don't ask,' and the baker didn't say a word.

"What are those? Who cares, I want them too!" L by then had climbed out of the cart and had his face pressed up against the glass. "Oooh…cookies…I want all of them."

"But that's our whole-"

"You can make more! I WANT THEM! NOW!" L shouted, glaring up at the baker.

Light snorted and mumbled to himself, "and he had the audacity to accuse me of being Kira."

"YOU'RE STILL UNDER SUSPICION!" L turned around, pointed and shouted crazily at Light.

Light looked scared for a moment and sunk down further into the basket. He should've known better than to say anything while L was having a moment, but then again, when wasn't he? Light was also a little impressed that L was able to hear him.

"I'll just…get those cookies for you," the baker backed away slowly as he grabbed several boxes. He used about two big cake boxes to put the entire stock of freshly made cookies into them. He measured them, placed a price sticker on it, and handed both of them over to Watari. Watari placed both boxes into Near's cart and they headed to the check-out lane.

"Almost forgot about these," Mello appeared out of nowhere, his arms loaded down with candy bars and bags of miniature chocolate candies. L's eyes widened and his mouth began to water.

"No, no! These are mine Ryuzaki! You have your own goodies!" Mello cried defensively, shaking his blonde hair all over the place.

L's eyes sparkled and Mello gritted his teeth, "must…look…away…DAMNIT! TELL HIM TO STOP!"

Matt and Near were helping Watari take the items out of the cart. Watari reprimanded L, telling him that he did have his own goodies and that those were for Mello. L sulked and Misa and Light began an engaging conversation over why healthy foods were important. Matsuda was tired and slowly began to fall asleep, he desperately needed a nap and didn't care where he slept at that moment.

They spent another ten minutes in line as their bags were placed inside the cart and the groceries were paid for. The group headed out to the car and Watari saw a dilemma with the bags. There was no room in the trunk and the only place would be inside of the car. There was a lot of bags and it would be a problem. Near suggested that everyone get seated and then he and Watari could place the bags on the floor at their feet, when they got home they could unload the bags and then everyone could climb out. This seemed to work and they followed through with the plan.

Eventually, which seemed like forever, the group was finally headed home. Watari couldn't be more relieved. He was worn out. He didn't mind shopping, but shopping with three young adults and four children was more than what he could handle. The car ride was surprisingly quiet as all four of the kids were passed out asleep, including L. When they finally reached headquarters Light was snoring loudly and Mello was bitching that he was going to throw him out of the window.

Watari and Near unloaded the groceries once they were parked and Matt and Mello easily climbed out of the car. They helped bring the groceries in, followed by all the bags in the trunk. They then carefully and quietly, lifted each child up and carried them inside. They didn't want to wake them from their nap. With them sleeping it would also give them time to discuss over what they would plan to do about their situation and what to tell the other members of the task force.

"Damn drooling kid," Mello grumbled as he held onto Light. Watari had scooped L up and Matt picked up Matsuda, leaving only Misa and Light. Near quickly picked up Misa and left Mello with Light. Mello insisted that Near did that on purpose, but Near ignored him and went inside.

Once the kids were placed down in one of the rooms to finish their nap, the rest of them went downstairs to discuss what they would do next. Of course they didn't know _what _they could do because increasing and decreasing age was physically and logically impossible.

Watari sighed as he slowly lowered himself into one of the seats, "I do not know what to do."

"Same here, I'm at a loss," Matt agreed as he took a seat as well. "But we have to do something, I mean, we can't stay like this forever."

"I don't mind, although I agree that something has to be done," Mello chimed in, walking into the room and taking a seat on the couch opposite of Matt and Watari.

"Where's Near?" Watari asked him.

Mello shrugged, "alphabetizing the fridge. I put up my share of groceries."

"I won't ask," Watari muttered and then took off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes with his fingers. "I don't understand how one minute everyone can be fine and the next their age just changes and their appearance."

"I know and you didn't change at all!" Mello exclaimed, pulling out a chocolate bar from his pocket. His feet were kicked up on the coffee table and Watari shot him a look. Mello slid his feet off the coffee table and pealed back the wrapper to the chocolate bar.

"It's strange indeed."

They didn't need to look up to know that it was Near. The white-haired youth had no other place to sit except by Mello, who surprisingly didn't say anything.

Matt looked up from twiddling his thumbs, "…that game."

"What? Stop talking to yourself," Mello took a big bite out of the chocolate.

"I wasn't, really," Matt turned a bit red. "What I mean is that it is like that game I played 'Cosmic Space Odyssey 5000.'"

"Can't say that I heard of it, Matt," Mello rolled his eyes at the gamer.

"Of course you wouldn't and it was an okay game, I gave it a C only because the graphics were interesting," Matt rambled about the game and the good and bad things about it.

Watari coughed.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Matt laughed sheepishly. "See what happens is that in the game you have to go out in space and stop these aliens from creating this satellite which will affect Earth and cause a change in life. Pretty much the change was things being switched. People turning into animals, animals turning into inanimate objects. Plants turning into cannibal humans and devouring everything in sight. Stuff like that."

"So are you trying to say that aliens have created a satellite and have altered our age?" Near asked him, skeptically not believing anything the gamer was saying.

Matt's face turned red, "well…no…not necessarily, but it is a good basis of a hypothesis, right?"

"Perhaps," was all Watari said.

"I think you fucking lost your marbles," Mello swore and Watari told him to watch his language.

Matt stood up, "alright, hotshot, I'd like to see you come up with an idea why we are a lot older and why L and the rest of them are younger!"

"I don't know why! That's why we are trying to figure it out!" Mello stood as well, throwing his chocolate bar onto the coffee table.

Near looked a bit amused but interrupted their fight, "wouldn't you be contradicting yourself then, Mello?"

"Huh?" the blonde turned to look down at him.

"Matt is trying to give some reasoning, no matter how out there it is, and you shoot it down but then say that we are trying to figure out a reason. Which goes back to Matt who did try to give a reason and-"

"OKAY! JUST SHUT UP!" Mello shouted at him and plopped back down onto the couch. "I don't want to hear you talking in circles."

"Maybe if you-"

Watari had enough of the three of them and stood up himself, placing his glasses back on, "I think that is enough for right now."

"Enough of what?"

The four of them looked up to see Chief Yagami walk into the main room. He was holding his coat in one hand and his face looked concerned. He then spotted the three young adults on the couches and his eyebrows scrunched together.

"Who are they?"

Watari was about to explain when a loud and very shrill scream came from upstairs. Feet thudding on the floor was heard next, followed by trampling down the stairs. They watched as the auburn-haired little boy came running at full speed and crying, "Watari! Watari! L was hugging me while I was sleeping and I did _not _enjoy that one bit!"

"I can't help it if Light-kun is warm and squishy!" another voice followed as they saw the black-haired child run behind him awkwardly.

Chief Yagami couldn't believe his eyes as he seemed to be thrown into a time vortex, sending him many, many years back.

"L-Light? Is that…you?"

Light looked up and his eyes looked scared but then he smiled brightly, "DADDY!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I kinda got busy with a few other things. But thank you to everyone who has read/reviewed/alerted/favorited this story, haha! I'll try to have another chapter up by the end of this week or this weekend. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything.

* * *

Soichiro Yagami could only stare in disbelief as what appeared to be his son, smiling up at him, his arms outstretched as if he wanted to be picked up.

"L-Light…is that you?"

"DADDY!"

"W-what? How? I-"

Soichiro felt tugging on his pants leg and he looked down at the black-haired child. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but no matter how many times he blinked and told himself he was dreaming, deep down inside he knew he wasn't.

"Ryuzaki?"

"You're not taking Light-kun home, are you?" L asked, his voice small and pitiful.

"I-"

"Stop pestering him," Matt jogged over, scooping L up with one arm. L was dangling from Matt's arm and he began kicking his feet.

"Maybe you should have a seat," Watari suggested, motioning with his hand to an empty seat.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Light pestered his father, his arms still in the air. Soichiro looked down at his son and picked him up. Light wrapped his small arms around his neck and became silent, but was content.

"I don't see how…why…how?" Soichiro was flabbergasted and words could not form properly.

Matt had tossed L down onto the couch beside Near and Near handed L one of his robot toys. L looked at it curiously before he started to play with it, becoming distracted so Watari and Soichiro could talk.

"It seems we may have had a mishap that none of us can quite explain at the moment," Watari began to explain. "Somehow, during the night, your son, L, Matsuda, and Misa became children again. Matt, Mello, and Near have seem to aged to young adults."

Soichiro looked at the young adults who were listening from their seats. At first he didn't know who they were but then once he heard the names, it did dawn on him. They had met the first day they had arrived to the headquarters. It was just different seeing them grown instead of little, like how they were.

"And what about you Watari? Shouldn't this…whatever it is…have altered your age as well?" Soichiro asked the elder man.

Watari shook his head, "it appears to not have in the slightest. I think the only ones affected were the ones who were presently here at the time, including Matsuda."

L, who was supposedly distracted with Near's robot, remarked, "so that means that when this occurred you were not presently in the building."

"Correct," Watari nodded his head. "Unless whatever it was skipped over me."

L was going to say something else but he became excited when a missile came shooting out of the robot's arm. The missile almost hit Mello in the head, but Mello ducked out of the way in time.

"I'm just," Soichiro sighed and felt a headache coming on. "I'm just having a hard time believing that this is happening. What do I do? How do we change them back?"

"That is something that we are currently working on," Watari tried to ease his concerns, but Soichiro seemed to freak out the more he looked at Light.

"I can't bring him home like this, if his Mother ever saw him-"

Light lifted his head up and exclaimed, "NO! NOT MOM!"

Both Light and Soichiro knew that once Light was home, his Mother would flip her lid and that's the last thing they wanted to do. She would probably go into a freak-out session followed by a long session of wanting to spend as much time with her baby Light.

"What about the other task force members? Do we tell them? What about the Kira case?" Soichiro asked, placing Light down on the floor because he was beginning to squirm about. Light ran over towards the couch and climbed up on it next to L. He went to snatch at the robot but L snatched it back. They both were soon involved in a tug-of-war match with the robot, neither of them letting go.

"I think it is best if we don't tell them right now, we'll just tell them that we have hit a dead end and that they can take a break for a few days before we bring them in. I think it would be too much chaos if they were brought in, so we'll keep it under wraps for right now. As far as the Kira case goes, there is still Matt, Mello, and Near who can work on it in the time being. We'll find a solution to this age problem in the middle of it and see what happens."

Soichiro nodded his head at Watari's plan. It was the best and only thing they could do at the moment. Both adults turned their heads at the increasing shouting match that began between L and Light.

"Let go of the toy, Light-kun!"

"No! I want to see it!"

"Maybe Light-kun should ask before taking what isn't his!"

"It's not yours either, it's Near's!"

"But Near let me have it first!"

"Just let me look at it, L! I'm not going to damage it!"

"Light-kun is spoiled!"

"L is a big baby that can't let other people have a try!"

"Light-kun likes to take what isn't his!"

"L likes to think that everything is his!"

"LET…GO!" L gave a hard tug.

"YOU…FIRST!" Light tugged even harder.

Both boys watched as the robot flew out of both of their hands and went soaring into the air. The robot caught some good air as it zoomed over Soichiro and Watari's head. A loud crash echoed the room as one of the computer monitors was knocked over onto the floor. Computer pieces scattered about and sizzled as the robot was decimated by the impact.

"I'm glad that wasn't the robot I really wanted," Near sighed as he twirled a piece of hair around his finger.

"LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" the two boys shouted at each other. They began another hissy fit match with each other but Watari had heard enough. He sent both boys to opposite corners of the room and made them face the wall for ten minutes.

"I need a break," Mello grumbled as he left the room. Matt followed quickly behind him and as did Near. All three of the young adults disappeared upstairs to get some peace and quiet.

Soichiro and Watari were left talking to each other, while Light and L were serving their time-out punishment. Light would glance over at L from his corner and glare at him, but saw he was not getting a response. L was too busy plotting things over in his mind, making sure to make the perfect move. When L saw that he could make his move, he quickly tip-toed out of his corner and ducked around the couch. He stayed there, peaking his head out from the side, before quickly dashing up the stairs.

"Wha-" Light whispered as he watched L do this without being detected at all. Light saw that both adults were distracted and he to tried to make his escape but didn't get far.

"Light! Corner!" Soichiro scolded him and pointed to the corner.

Light stood there in disbelief, "but-"

"No buts!"

"L he-"

"I don't care, corner! Now!"

Light grumbled as he made his way back to the corner. It just wasn't fair.

* * *

"Put your stuff on your own bed, Near!" Mello pushed the poor adult and his things across the room.

Near stumbled and regained his balance as he glared over his shoulder at Mello, commenting about how that wasn't very nice. He put his bags onto his own bed and began to pull each item out, stacking them in piles by category.

"I don't see why Watari put us in the same room, we should be able to have our own rooms," Mello complained, admiring his new leather pants.

Matt shrugged, popping one of his new games into his Gameboy, "maybe he doesn't trust us more since we are adults."

"Doesn't trust Mello, you mean," Near corrected, trying to get an insult in on Mello. It didn't work cause Mello was still admiring his leather pants and was mesmerized by them. Near shook his head and gathered up his pile of clothes, bringing them to the dresser. He opened the dresser drawer and began stacking the clothes inside.

Matt became quiet the more he played his game. His tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth as his thumbs pressed down on the buttons quickly. Mello snapped out of his daze and began hanging up his clothes. Mello and Near had their clothes put away and all their new purchases for entertainment. The only one who had bags still piled on their bed and floor was Matt.

"You should put your things away," Near told Matt, bothered by how the bags were just sitting there.

"Uh-huh," Matt barely acknowledged him, swearing as he almost lost a life.

"Your bags are really bothering me, Matt."

Matt nodded his head, "…yeah, lunch was good."

"I didn't say anything about lunch," Near gave him a look shuffled over to his own bed.

Mello smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, "hey Matt, I had a blast flushing your games down the toil-"

Before Mello could even finish, Matt had his game paused and was on his feet. He grabbed Mello by the shirt and began shaking him, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY GAMES?!"

"N-n-nothing!" Mello cried out, surprised at how fast Matt reacted.

Matt shook him harder, "DON'T YOU EVEN PLAY LIKE THAT! I _WILL _HURT YOU, MELLO!"

"I didn't! I didn't touch your games! Let me go!" Mello shoved at him and Matt stumbled back a bit but didn't let go of Mello's shirt.

They were unaware as L made his way into the room. Near scooted over on his bed and made room for L. The small boy and young adult watched as Matt threatened Mello with every possible method of torture if Mello ever joked about his games again. Matt also promised he would go through with said methods of torture if Mello even _thought _about touching his games, much less looking at them.

"Weren't you in time-out?" Near looked down at L, who innocently sucked at his thumb and shrugged. "Watari will be upset with you cause you disobeyed him."

L shrugged his shoulders again, sucking harder on his thumb.

"Oh for goodness sake! Mello please give him some of your chocolate," Near asked the chocolate addict, aggravated with L's behavior.

Mello was finally free of Matt's grip and was smoothing out his shirt, "no way, let him go get his own."

"How can you say no to a face like that!" Matt exclaimed, looking at L's watering, big, black eyes and cute face. L was trying his hardest to make his puppy dog face but Mello wasn't budging.

"No!" Mello firmly exclaimed, sitting down on his own bed now.

Matt frowned as L's lip began to quiver, "oh come on, he's sad! Give him just a piece, a small one at least."

"No."

"Mello-"

"Matt-"

"How could you be so heartless to your mentor?" Matt tried to break Mello's walls down, knowing that the blonde wanted to be L's successor than anything else on the planet.

Mello looked over at L and turned his head around. He flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling, "I'm not even phased. I want to be L's successor, but I'm not giving up my chocolate either."

Near had an idea as he walked over to Mello and climbed on top of him, pinning his arms and legs down. Mello began to shout and squirm, trying to knock the albino adult off of him, but he was having no luck.

"Gah! Get off of me, Near! I didn't know you were gay!"

Matt laughed and ran over to them, unzipping his pants and pulling them down. Mello's eyes went wide and L could only watch with interest at what his successors were up to.

"Matt, you…GET YOUR ASS OUT OF MY FACE!"

Matt had bent down and his rear end was in the direct line of Mello's face. Mello looked horrified as Matt began to pull down his boxers, his skin visible to both Mello and Near. Near looked away, not wanting to look at Matt's naked butt, but kept Mello firmly pinned down.

"I had a big lunch today Mello," Matt chuckled, pushing his behind further over.

Mello's face was the epitome of horrified and tears began to leak out the corner of his eyes, "no…anything but that!"

"I swear, I'll let one rip," Matt taunted, but really wasn't playing because he did have gas. Matt was known throughout the orphanage to have the worst gas any kid could possibly have. It was so bad that he could clear a room and keep it cleared for a good hour.

"OKAY! OKAY! HE CAN HAVE SOME CHOCOALTE! PLEASE, JUST DON'T FART IN MY FACE!" Mello screeched and watched as Near and Matt nodded and smiled to each other.

Matt pulled his pants up and Near let go of Mello, who just breathed a sigh of relief. Matt walked out the room saying that he really did have to fart but didn't want to clear their bedroom. Near made his way back to his own bed and sat down. He glanced down at L who seemed pleased with the results.

When Matt returned, L was perched on top of Mello's stomach, eating one of his candy bars. His face was smudged with chocolate as he was happily gobbling down the sweet chocolate. Mello was bitching about how it was unfair that L had to sit on him and eat the chocolate in front of him. Matt insisted that it was punishment for not giving L candy to begin with.

"I believe Mello's chance of being my successor has dropped by 30 percent."

Mello's eyes widened, "ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHY?!"

"I'm very serious and because my successors should not give in to anything, including a toxic gas cloud to the face. Although…" L licked at his fingers, "Matt's flatulence is something to be scared of-"

"So that means you won't take back the 30 percent of not being your heir?" Mello looked hopeful as he stared up at L, who was very much in thought.

"Hmm…no."

Mello tossed his head back and sobbed, "so not fair."

* * *

A/N: Poor Mello and Light, it's their "not fair" chapter haha! I have a slight idea what might happen in the next chapter, but I won't say. Probably more mayhem, that's a guarantee.

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. I appreciate the comments, ideas, suggestions, kind words, etc... Have a good Friday and weekend! :)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything

* * *

The evening had settled in, night time making its presence known. It was suppose to be quiet and peaceful, but a certain group was very much awake and rambunctious. Watari was sitting down and taking a break, due to four children who were running around and three young adults that were bickering with each other. He felt a headache coming on and all he knew was that if no one went to bed soon, there was going to be hell to pay.

The afternoon went by smoothly, Watari sending Soichiro home to take care of his family. He reassured the other man that Light would be in good hands and nothing bad would happen. Soichiro was reluctant but he did manage to leave to go home to his wife and Sayu. Once Soichiro left, Watari made dinner for everyone and even that had went smoothly. Only once it became bath time and time for bed, did everything start becoming chaotic. Practically everyone was screaming, not knowing what to do, as if they didn't have an ounce of common sense.

"Misa-Misa can't find her brush," blonde locks of hair were wet and starting to frizz to the girl's head the more it air dried.

Loud crying from Matsuda, "m-my s-socks won't go on!"

"Watari! Watari! Tell L to put some clothes on and to stop running around naked!" Light huffed, holding L's pajamas in his hands.

"WHEEEEE!" L ran around naked without a care in the world.

Near stood next to Watari, twirling his hair around not saying anything, but Watari knew he was distressed about something because Near was usually off doing his own thing without any assistance.

"FIRE LEVEL 9 KICK ATTACK! HYAAAAH!"

"Gaaah!" Mello took a big kicking blow to his stomach, courtesy of Matt. "I told you I don't want to role play your stupid game!"

Watari had enough as he stood up and pulled a whistle out of his pocket. He bought it for situations just like this. He blew into the whistle and everyone froze and covered their ears at the loud shrill. He then began to address every complaint and problem that was happening before his eyes.

"Misa, check the bathroom for your brush."

"Matsuda, dry your feet some more and your socks will go on."

Watari grabbed the naked L and the clothes from Light and began to dress L, who squirmed and grumbled. Misa's face turned red and she screamed at all of them, calling them perverts for running around naked. She quickly took off to the bathroom to find her brush. Once L was dressed in his undies and a big, white t-shirt for bed, Watari continued.

"Matt, stop kicking Mello. Mello, stop antagonizing Near so Matt will stop kicking you."

Near looked happy now and Mello frowned at being caught. Matt was disappointed that he couldn't kick Mello again but figured that there was always tomorrow.

"Go! Now! To bed!" Watari began to shoo them off, waving his hands. The group began to flock in different directions. Mello headed off to the kitchen saying he needed chocolate and L's eyes lit up at that and began to follow him. Light was helping Matsuda with his socks and when both boys were done, they headed up to their room. Near shuffled off to his room with Matt so he could play with his toys some before falling asleep.

Thirty minutes later everyone was settled into their own room. Whether they were asleep or not didn't matter, they were in the rooms and that was what mattered the most. Watari could finally have some peace and quiet for a few hours before the new day began. But sleep didn't come easy for him as he tried to come up with every solution possible as to why their ages were switched around. It was quite frustrating to not have an answer.

* * *

"Misa doesn't know why she has to share a room with boys," Misa pouted as she sat on her bed, brushing her blonde hair.

Matsuda was humming softly to himself as he read from one of the books that was bought at the store. The colorful pictures and story kept him entertained and started to make him sleepy.

Light was busy shoving L off of his bed, "don't be such a baby, sleep in your own bed."

"But Light-kun's bed is softer," L complained, half falling off of said bed.

"I don't care, it's my bed not yours," Light argued, giving L another shove. He had almost knocked the small detective off but L still clung to the bedding.

L pouted, "Light-kun is mean and wants L to sleep on a hard bed."

"L hardly sleeps at all and Light-kun isn't mean," Light mocked him, giving up on getting the boy off.

L climbed the rest of the way back on the bed and sat there perched on it, thumb to his mouth, just blankly staring at Light. Both boys began a staring contest and that lasted for ten minutes. Matt had came into the room, telling them that it was time for light's out. He clicked the light off and Matsuda gave a high pitched squeal, ducking under his covers.

Light climbed off of the bed and turned the night light on. Matsuda began to calm down after that. He held onto his teddy bear and snuggled down into the covers, closing his eyes and instantly falling asleep. Misa finished brushing her hair and put the brush on the dresser. She too laid down in her bed and closed her eyes.

"So you're not going to move, are you?" Light glared at L, who shook his head no. "Hmph! Fine!"

L watched as Light grabbed his elephant and hopped into L's bed, not seeing how either beds were different from the other. Light pulled the covers up around his shoulders and turned his back to L. The only one who was left awake was L, who waited for a while before creeping out of the room. He would find another bunkmate to sleep with.

The next morning came quickly and everyone was slowly beginning to wake up. Watari was the first one awake, heading down to the kitchen to make everyone breakfast. When he had awoken he had found L curled up asleep at the foot of his bed. Watari gave a small smile and pulled the covers that had slipped off of him, back over his small body. Watari wasn't surprised to see L in his bedroom. When L was little he would frequently visit his room, either camping out on the floor or on the bed. Watari never had the heart to tell L to go back to his room. The older L became the less he wound up in Watari's room, until now.

The next person to awake was Matsuda. He strolled into the kitchen and sat down at the table. He was never one to sleep that long as a child. Watari was surprised to see him up so early but greeted him with "good morning" and began to serve him some breakfast. They both sat there quietly as they ate, waiting for everyone else to wake up. Which didn't take long as L arrived downstairs shortly after.

When Light had woke up, he saw that Matsuda wasn't in the room, neither was L. He frowned and looked over at Misa who was still asleep. The girl was tossing and turning before she too woke up and smiled over at Light. Light walked to the dresser and pulled out a pair of fresh clothes for the day before going to the bathroom to change. Misa followed suit but she went to the kitchen instead, smelling something good coming from there.

"Mmm…what's for breakfast?" Misa asked as she sat down in the chair. Watari got up and served her a plate of eggs and some toast along with a glass of juice. Misa dug happily into the food, her fork stabbing a piece of the eggs.

Light eventually made it to the table. He grumpily sat down and looked around at everyone who was eating. Matsuda was finished and Watari was reading a newspaper while drinking some tea. Light grouchily said that he didn't want anything but reached for a piece of fruit instead.

"What's for breakfast? I'm starved!" Matt chirped as he entered the kitchen, walking over to the oven and looking down at the empty pan. He saw a few plates on the counter that were covered and he quickly went over there. Matt pulled the foil up off the plate and saw that there was a bunch of eggs underneath. The other plate had toast and the next one had bacon. Matt grabbed a plate and began to load his plate with all three of the food items.

Mello grumbled as he pulled up a chair, "you know I don't like eggs, Watari."

"Mhmm," Watari half-listened as he flipped another page in the newspaper.

"You always make L whatever he wants to eat," Mello complained, "why can't I get the same service?"

Watari dropped the newspaper a bit, "I never realized that I was employed by you, if that's the case I would like a pay increase and an incentive for everything that _I _have to _do _for _you_."

Mello's mouth just dropped open, "yeah but-"

"Maybe it's because L doesn't eat anything but sweets and no matter what that's all he is going to eat. Besides, you don't want L to go without his sweets, do you?" Matt shook his head as he sat down beside the grumpy blonde. "Remember what happened last time?"

Mello shuddered as he recalled when L ran out of sweets. He was visiting the orphanage and there was nothing left to satisfy L. Not to mention there was a snowstorm that hit that night so there was no way to go out to a store. That whole day L had sugar withdrawals and he began to terrorize the little orphans. L had to be locked away in his room until the roads cleared up, which wasn't for a whole other day.

"Okay, you made your point," Mello said as he stood up, grabbing a piece of toast and some bacon.

L was ignoring everyone as he happily ate his strawberry shortcake. Matsuda and Misa had left the table, going up to the room to get dressed and to play with their new toys. Near eventually wandered down but he only took a swallow of some juice and a piece of toast before disappearing again.

"I think we should spend the day trying to figure out how to get us back to how we were," Light stated, playing with the banana peel to his already devoured banana.

L lifted his head, "I agree with Light-kun. We should make a list of all possibilities and then start eliminating them all until one of them sounds at least possible."

Matt sighed, pushing his eggs around the plate, "yeah but the thing is, none of it makes sense. How can you just magically transform your body and age? It's…impossible."

"Not impossible seeing as it happened," L corrected, shoving another forkful of strawberry shortcake into his mouth.

Light sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, "maybe we should see what was different that day compared to any of the other days."

"Sounds like a plan," a nodding Mello agreed as he took a bite out of the bacon, the pieces crunching in his mouth as he chewed.

Watari folded up his paper and stood up, "I think that is a good idea as well, but we do have a little problem that might get into the way."

"What's that?" Matt asked, picking up his glass of juice and downing it in one gulp.

"The three of you still have schooling lessons."

Matt stared in disbelief and Mello began to choke on his bacon. Watari thumped Mello on the back a few times and he finally calmed down, taking in a breath.

"What…but…why?!" Matt tried getting a decent question out but couldn't.

"Even though you appear older does not mean that you can neglect your schooling. I believe this was explained before the age reversal and before you even arrived here. The deal was that you three would be able to come here and help with the Kira case _if _you kept mind of your studies."

Mello glowered at Watari, "yeah but who is going to teach us?"

* * *

"Heeeellooooo class!"

"Good morning Miss Amane," three individuals droned in response.

Misa clapped her hands excitedly and bounced on her heels, "oh this is so much fun! Misa is going to teach you lots of things!"

"I highly doubt that," Mello muttered under his breath, earning a jab in the arm from Matt.

"Okay, now Misa is going to teach you all about…ummm…oh! Misa remembers!" Misa giggled as she picked up her book, which happened to be a blank sketch book. "Misa is going to teach you about shapes and colors!"

Near didn't have a problem with that, if they could play with the crayons, he was all for it. Matt nearly sweat dropped and Mello could only growl in annoyance. This was all Watari's fault. Three of L's successors, training under the best there was in the world, had to sit in a bedroom listening to a blonde headed little girl. Misa had them sitting at little plastic yellow tables and on little plastic seats. Their knees were banging up against the table and they could hardly fit in the chairs.

"Okay, so this right here is a circle!" Misa drew a circle on her paper and held it up. "See how pretty Misa's circle is?!"

Near drew his own black circle on the paper and was pleased. Mello lazily drew a circle while Matt drew a circle but started drawing a whole person that became into a character.

"-and this is a triangle, you try it now!" Misa encouraged them to draw one. Near did so without any complaints, Matt was still heavily involved in his own drawing, and Mello was gritting his teeth with anger and frustration.

"Last we have a square," Misa drew a square and held it up for them to see. Near, not wanting to fail with anything, drew a square on his paper. Matt finished with his drawing and Mello had snapped his crayon in half.

"Okay and that's all for today, tomorrow Misa is going to teach you how to use these shapes to draw flowers and pretty things!"

Misa dismissed them and the three of them stood up, walking out of the room and heading towards their next 'class.' Mello couldn't believe the idiocy that they were being subjected to it. It was completely humiliating. If Watari thought this was a funny joke, then he must've been out of his mind.

Their next class was with Light who had a bunch of books on the makeshift desk. He tossed the books at them and he flipped open his own, ordering the three to open the page to 25. For the next hour Near, Mello, and Matt spent the time doing hard Algebra and Geometry. Light wasn't a very nice teacher, they found out, but it didn't matter because the math was actually very stimulating and none of them had a problem getting through it. They found it a bit challenging in some areas but at least they were being intellectually stimulated.

"Right so Watari said to assign you homework," Light began to smirk as he looked down at his book. "Do pages 30-35."

"All of them?!" Matt freaked out looking down at all the problems that they would have to do on all those pages.

Light's smirk grew wider, "all of them."

Near twirled a piece of hair around his finger, "I think Light's chance of being Kira has increased by five percent."

"How do you figure?" Matt asked as they were walking to their next class, math books tucked under their arms. Mello was busy sobbing away at the torture they would have to do later.

"Because it seems like a very Kira-ish thing to do," Near explained. "Giving people roughly 500 math problems to do before tomorrow."

"…death by math, who would've guessed," Matt mused as they stepped inside the next room. Matt had to turn around and drag Mello inside who passed out in the hallway. The next class that they had was with Matsuda. Sitting at very similar tables Matt and Near listened while Mello just laid on the floor, still sobbing away.

"Umm…Mello, could you please sit in your chair and listen?" Matsuda asked hesitantly, not sure if he should say something to the older boy or not.

Matt gave Mello a sharp kick in the side and Mello yelped, jumping up and clutching his side. He glared at Matt but Matt gave him a look that said for him to sit down, which he did. Matsuda gave a nervous laugh and then continued with what he was teaching.

"Okay, so I believe Watari wanted me to teach you guys science," Matsuda flipped through the book until his eyes lit up. "We'll learn about this then!"

All three groaned as Matsuda instructed them to turn to page 158, the chapter over the animal kingdom. At first Matsuda stumbled over his words, not sure where to begin, but once he found his sole topic and a good pace, the lesson carried on quite smoothly. All three of them surprisingly enjoyed listening to Matsuda talk about the various animals and how they were broken down into individual groups. Not that they didn't know about it, but Matsuda's energy and enthusiasm made it very enjoyable.

"Okay, well I guess that's it for today. Bye!" Matsuda waved goodbye to them and the three young adults stood up and went to their last and final class. Mello took off running down the hall because the last class was going to be with L and no matter what L taught, he knew it would be important. Plus the fact that learning anything from his mentor was a bonus.

"I've never seen him this happy since he discovered chocolate," Matt said to Near and Near shook his head.

When Matt and Near entered the room, Mello was already at his seat, hands folded neatly in his lap. His eyes were wide as he waited for L to begin teaching. He turned sharply in his seat, "what took you guys so long?! You shouldn't make him wait!"

"Good grief," Matt muttered as he sat down, dropping his books on the floor.

Near took his time and eventually made it to his seat, stacking his books in a neat pile at the edge of the table. L was crouched down in his chair, biting at his thumb, as he smiled to his successors. The room was quiet as they anxiously awaited what the great L would say.

"Because you three are special and will be learning what I teach you, the lessons will be different, of course."

All three of them nodded.

"Watari made me a syllabus of what you have learned so far and what I should be teaching you," L picked up the syllabus with his pointer finger and thumb on his left hand, letting the paper dangle in the air. He threw the paper down and chewed harder on his other thumb. The paper fluttered to the floor and they stared at it before L began to speak again.

"I don't think it is very necessary, for right now," he added as an afterthought.

Near raised his hand, "so what are you going to be teaching us?"

"Good question," L hopped off the chair and picked up three papers with his fingers and tossed them on the table. The papers scattered and each one of them picked up a paper, their expressions going from curious to confused.

"The three of you are going to be baking a cake," L's mouth began to water at the thought of a nice, moist cake. "Well you'll be baking me a cake. Individually that is."

"Yo-you're serious?" Matt was very confused as his eyes racked over the paper.

L nodded his head.

"But L, how will this pertain to anything we do in the future with solving cases?" Matt persisted and L tilted his head to the side, wondering why the red-head was so against the lesson.

"It really doesn't, I just want cake and Watari won't let me have any until your lessons are done," L frowned at being rejected from his one and only love.

Near began to memorize the recipe and Mello was plotting how he was going to bake the best cake L had ever seen and tasted. Matt still couldn't believe that L wanted them to bake him a cake.

"And if we don't bake you a cake?" Matt wondered, looking the small child dead in the eye.

L turned to walk back to his seat as he shrugged, "I guess I have no other choice but to fail my three successors. If one doesn't complete the task, everyone fails."

"WHAT?!" Mello screeched, turning a sharp eye to Matt. "YOU ARE BAKING A CAKE AND YOU ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE US FAIL!"

"I agree with Mello," Near sighed as he stood up from the chair. "No matter how ridiculous this is, I do not want to fail. If our mentor wants a cake, then I suppose we must bake him one."

"But I can't cook!" Matt protested, being pulled up out of his seat by Mello.

"It's not that hard, let's go!" Mello began to drag Matt out of the room, Near following behind them, still reading over the paper.

"Don't forget the frosting," L called out to them, watching as his three most best students made their way to the kitchen to bake him a cake out of the utmost adoration they had for their mentor.

L began to laugh to himself, "I outsmarted you this time, Watari. I will have my cake!"

"What are you doing? Where is your class?"

L looked over at Light who entered the room, hands on his hips.

"And what is this about a cake?" Light questioned some more and the look on L's face explained it all. "Oh no, don't tell me-"

"Yes, Light-kun?"

"Your lesson plan is revolved around them making you cake?!" Light couldn't believe that L would utilize his time to make his successors bake cake than prepare them for the future.

"Correct."

"And what about their future?" Light was always one for a good education for a very strong and financially successful future.

L looked confused, "what about it?"

"You're making them bake cakes! You don't see nothing wrong with this?" Light's voice raised an octave or two, his hands now moving wildly as he talked.

L shook his head, "did Light-kun do something different for his lesson?"

"Yes! I gave them 500 math problems!" Light seemed very pleased of that and L made a note of it for the future.

"Hmm…" L looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should make them bake cupcakes for homework."

At that, Light fell over and began to twitch.

* * *

A/N: I am sorry for the wait! I had some internet connection problems thanks to a certain cable company, but it's resolved now. On top of that I was thinking over the direction I wanted the story to go in, bla bla bla, I won't bore you with that.

Anywho! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I was thinking about titling each chapter, but I'm pretty bad with coming up with title names. The main title is enough as it has, haha! But we'll see what happens.

Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, etc...I appreciate it. I'll try and have another chapter up by the end of this week/weekend. :)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything.

* * *

As the week progressed everything started to fall into a basic routine. Watari had discovered L was using his class time to make his successors bake him cake. It was only discovered because Near accidentally dropped one of his toys into the cake batter, without knowing, and when the cake was cooking the plastic began to melt, making the cake smolder and setting the fire alarm off. Watari sent everyone off to the upper floors so he could ventilate the bottom floor, getting the smoke and the smell of burnt plastic out of the rooms. L was not too pleased with this and the fact that Watari took away half of his dessert privileges.

A few days had passed and it was Wednesday. Classes weren't held for that day, Watari said that everyone could take a break from their studies/teaching. Misa was disappointed because she finally moved from flowers to trees and was going to start having the three successors draw landscapes soon. But that didn't matter because it was going to be a randomly fun-packed day. Misa giggled as she pulled out her dolls and brought them into another room that she had set up for herself as a play room. She giggled some more as she glanced at the nicely set table, she couldn't wait.

* * *

"I'm going to play some video games," Matt muttered, grabbing a sandwich off the plate of sandwiches Watari had made.

Mello chomped into his sandwich and made a face as he pulled out a half-bitten tomato, "bleh."

Mello looked up to see Matt walk out the room and the blonde threw the sandwich on the table, jumping off the chair, "hey! Hey, where do you think you're going?!"

"Were you not listening? I said I'm going to play some video games," Matt explained again with a roll of his eyes.

"Jeez, you're no fun. Let's do something else-"

Mello was in the middle of talking but stopped when he noticed Matt wasn't walking anymore. Both were stopped in the middle of the hall now and were looking down at a small, but devilish looking Misa.

"Can we help you?" Mello snapped a little at her but Misa grinned even more.

"Oh yes, you certainly can."

* * *

"Just eat it."

"No."

"One bite!"

"Absolutely not."

"Come onnnn," Light whined as he waved the sandwich around. "It even has jelly on it."

"There's bread on it, or did Light-kun forget that detail?" L stared at the sandwich, afraid that the peanut butter and jelly mix in the middle would wind up on him.

"You won't eat it cause of the bread?! But you eat donuts and that's- hey do you hear that?"

Light stopped in the middle of his sentence and strained to hear as a noise softly emitted in the hall. L shook his head and cupped a hand over his ear to hear what Light was hearing.

"Light-kun, I do not hear anything."

Light waved his hand, "shhhh, it's coming from over there."

Light moved to where the sound was coming from and stopped in front of a closed door. He pressed his ear to the door and strained to listen to the noises inside. It sounded like a person's voice and thudding.

"What does Light-kun hear?"

Light lifted his head and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Voices and a thumping sound."

"We should investigate," L suggested, curious and nosey to find out what was going on in the room.

Light looked hesitant, "I don't know, it could be bad."

L reached for the door handle and began to slowly open the door, "I assure Light-kun that nothing bad could possibly be happe-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Light and L could only stare in horror at the scene inside. Mello and Matt were tied down to two small chairs and were struggling against their bonds.

"RUN! HURRY! GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE SHE-"

"Ahem!"

Light and L felt a chill run up their spine and began to shake as they slowly turned around to face a devious Misa.

"It's not polite to keep everyone waiting."

Both boys screamed as Misa closed the door and locked it.

* * *

"You know, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

Light, Mello, and Matt glared at L who happily sat crouched in the small chair, plopping sugar cubes into his cup.

"And wearing a dress doesn't bother you _at all_? Or have you just forgotten that?" Matt felt the need to roll his eyes at his mentor.

L looked down at the big floral dress he was wearing over his clothes and shook his head, "no. Pass me the creamer, please."

Matt grabbed the creamer and gave it to L who happily began to pour the cream into his cup of tea. Misa was gleefully clapping her hands and welcoming her guest to her fantastic tea party. Everyone groaned except L, Matsuda, and Near. Matsuda had just arrived with freshly baked goodies that he made with the little kid oven bake. Near was sitting on the floor playing with a few toys and L remained occupied with his tea.

"How did she get Near in here?" Light whispered to Mello and Matt.

Mello sneered, "because Near will do anything if it involves toys."

"And you two?"

Matt hung his head in shame, "she cornered us."

"Oh shut up! It wasn't like that at all!" Mello snapped at Matt and then coughed to regain some dignity. "She actually threatened to throw away my chocolate and Matt's video games if we didn't come."

"She also tied us up so we wouldn't escape or at least until everyone arrived, but that's when you two showed up. I think she was going to find you guys and somehow drag you in here," Matt picked up the rest of the story.

Misa had untied both of them so they were able to freely move around. But they were still locked in the room and had to endure the party. To make matters worse Misa even upped the threat to snitch on them about their midnight rendezvous away from headquarters if they didn't wear one of the big frilly dresses as well. They had no choice but to cooperate, if Watari found out that they had sneaked out that night, they would be in so much trouble. Near had tried to negotiate with Misa, but in the end lost and he too had to wear a dress.

"Okay so now that everyone is here we can have a nice tea party and enjoy all these baked goodies that Matsu has made," Misa clapped her hands together, her smile very wide and bright.

Matsuda adjusted the big straw hat on his head and took his seat beside Misa. The tea party was uneventful save for Misa and Matsuda who were having a blast and even L, who could care less that he was in a dress at that moment. There was tea, sugar, and dessert, it didn't get any better than that. The rest of them, minus Near who stayed occupied on the floor with his toys, groaned and tried to think of an escape route, but really couldn't because Misa had dirt on them and wouldn't hesitate to inform Watari of it all.

"Oh, this is so much fun and Matsu you did an excellent job on these cookies!" Misa squealed as she ate one of the small cookies.

Matsuda blushed and hid his face in the white gloves he was wearing, "ah, thank you Misa."

"Why are you wearing gloves?" Light looked horrified at the small police officer.

"Because they match the dress, duh! You can't have mismatching accessories," Matsuda defended. He liked the white gloves and it kept his hands from getting dirty.

"If you say so," Light muttered under his breath.

When the tea party was about finished Misa stood up and coughed loudly to get everyone's attention.

"Okay everyone, Misa has a fantastic idea!"

Loud groans.

"No tea party is ever complete without some fun and games," Misa ignored the groans.

Matt's eyes lit up, "games?"

"Not video games," Misa scowled and Matt hung his head with sadness. Mello laughed and L flicked a big brownie crumb at his face. The crumb bounced off his nose and landed into Light's cup of tea.

"Misa has the best game planned and Matsu, Misa appoints you as the official referee," Misa announced, trying to make it sound so very important. Matsuda seemed pleased at being listed as anything official and he nodded his head.

"Okay, so these are the rules-"

About five minutes later everyone was standing out in the hallway. More like three successors were on their hands and knees while three little kids were on their backs, one to each. Matsuda stood to the side, thankful that the hallway was wide, clutching a small flag in his hand.

"Now, whoever makes it downstairs and back up here first wins the game."

"Do we even get a prize for this?" Mello grumbled as he re-adjusted Light who was digging his heels into Mello's sides.

"No, except having the honor of saying that you won," Misa nodded her head, pleased with that.

"So not fair," Matt sighed softly so the small girl on his back wouldn't hear him.

L was contemplating the best way to win the race, "we have an eighteen percent chance of winning if Near does not drag his feet so much."

"Agreed," Near nodded his head, but knew that he would drag his feet anyway because that was just how he did things. "There's also a ninety percent chance we can escape this with whatever pride and dignity we have left," Near threw in as well.

"But Near was the one who did not mind the tea party," L bit at his thumb.

Near tried twirling his hair but almost knocked L off of him because he had to balance himself, "neither did you."

L bit harder at his thumb, "we shall pretend it never happened."

"You had _better _win," Light scowled down at Mello, kicking him hard in the ribs. Mello winced and glared up at the brat that was sitting on his back.

"You had better shut up or I'm going to throw you down the stairs!"

Near and L began another cycle of percentages.

"Ten percent that Light-kun is Kira."

"Thirty percent that Misa is the second Kira."

"Seventy percent that Mello is the third Kira," both said at the same time.

Mello and Light glared at the two and both shouted, "SHUT UP!"

Near and L increased their percentages by ten.

"Is everyone ready?" Matsuda asked. They didn't have a choice in the matter so they gave a yes as an answer.

"Okay, ready? Set…GO!" Matsuda waved the flag around and watched as everyone took off.

Mello stood up, his arms looping back to hold Light. Matt did the same for Misa so the little girl wouldn't fall. Both of the boys took off running down the hall as fast as they could. Near slowly stood up and L wrapped his arms around Near's neck, careful not to choke him. Near slowly began to shuffle his way down the hallway.

Matt had reached the stairs first as he took them one at a time but Mello was hot on his heels with Light yelling in his ear, kicking him with his feet. Mello took the stairs two at a time, not caring if they fell, if anything Light would go flying and Mello would be rid of him.

"They're going to win!" Misa pouted, gripping her arms around Matt's neck harder. Matt increased his speed and jumped the last five stairs, landing on his feet. He took off through the main area and down another hall before reaching another set of stairs.

Mello was right next to Matt, having gained ground taking the stairs two at a time. He repeated the same thing as he run up them, skipping every other step. Both Light and Misa were screaming at them to go faster once they reached the top.

"FASTER YOU SLOW HORSE! FASTER!!" Light pulled at Mello's hair and Mello yelled at the sharp pain.

Matt had pulled ahead but Mello pushed on harder, wanting to ditch Light as soon as he could. Having the little brat on his back and yelling in his ear was grating on his nerves.

"COME ON MATT, WE CAN DO IT!" Misa cheered, trying to encourage the gamer. The encouragement was nice but not needed as Mello became so distracted with fighting with Light that him and Misa took the lead and eventually won.

"MATT AND MISA WIN!" Matsuda cheered waving the flag. He happily clapped and jumped up and down, congratulating the winners.

Mello dumped Light onto the floor and both began to fight and argue with each other.

"Hey, where's Near and L?" Matt asked, looking around for the other two.

Matsuda shrugged his shoulders and they all wondered where the two of them could've gone to.

* * *

"We need about sixty blocks over there to build up the side some more," L pointed. "We don't want those defenses to be unguarded."

Near scooted over to the side and began to quickly count out sixty blocks before stacking them. L finished working on the other side, a Lego block held delicately between his fingers.

"We should probably build a surrounding wall to keep enemy lines away from the castle," Near twirled his hair around looking over at the rest of the Lego blocks that they had. He estimated that they did have enough to finish the castle and the new wall.

"Good idea," L smiled at his heir. "We should also have a moat to go around the castle."

Near looked over his shoulder at L, "how are we to do that? We would need a hole and water. Watari would throw a fit if we made a mess."

"I think we can get around that," L smiled mischievously.

* * *

Watari stepped outside to retrieve something from his car when he noticed the water hose across the parking pavement. He lifted an eyebrow and followed the hose, wondering why it was out here and who was behind it. There always had to be a who. Watari followed the hose path all the way around the building until it stopped and started going upwards. Watari's head followed the hose up until his head was craned back, staring up about the 3rd floor where the hose was now inside a window.

"What in the world?"

His hearing picked up faint screams and soon a black, moppy mess of wet hair poked out of the window. Watari could tell it was L, but the question was how in the world did L managed to do all this and for what reason?

"WATARI! I NEED HELP! THE MOAT DIDN'T GO AS PLANNED AND I'M 97 PERCENT SURE I MADE A MISTAKE WHILE INFILTRATING THE WATERING SYSTEM!"

Watari watched as L's head disappeared back into the room before reappearing again.

"OH AND NEAR CAN'T SWIM! HE SAYS FOR YOU TO BRING HIM HIS ARM FLOATIES!"

Again his head disappeared and reappeared.

"AND ASAP!"

Watari closed his eyes, took a deep breath and held it in for ten seconds before rescuing his wards.

* * *

A/N: OIY! Haha!

Next chapter will be a flashback of Matt and Mello's rendevouz, and poor Near who gets drug into everything against his will. :p

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, etc... :)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything.

* * *

A couple of nights back…

"Goodnight Watari, goodnight everybody," the three successors chorused together as they left to retire to their room.

The kids were put to bed already and Watari was off to his own room for the evening. This left three very bored young adults with nothing to do. Mainly it left a very bored Mello because Matt was easily entertained with his games and Near enjoyed his toys and puzzles.

"We should do something tonight," Mello mused aloud, rubbing his chin with his finger.

Matt plopped down on his bed, "yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know, we should go out," Mello began to think of places they could go.

Near looked unsure because he didn't know if Mello meant all three of them and where they would possibly be going if it did include him. Near silently stood by the closed door, listening to Mello's ideas.

"Out, out?" Matt asked, now sitting up in his bed a little.

Mello rolled his eyes, "duh! What did you think I meant?"

"I dunno," Matt shrugged.

Mello walked to the closet and yanked the door open. He eyed his shiny new leather outfit and he grinned. Pulling the outfit out he turned to face the other two, "we should go to a club."

"What?!" both Near and Matt sputtered.

"It'll be fun!" Mello began to take the leather pants off the hanger, followed by the matching black vest.

Matt scratched the back of his head and frowned, "yeah, anything that you come up with always leads us into trouble."

"Oh really? Name one incident then!"

"Remember Roger's birthday? You thought it would be funny to have one of those stupid snake things jump out of his birthday present. You nearly gave him a heart attack!"

"Roger is old," Near said bluntly, interrupting the conversation. "Not that I'm siding with Mello on this."

Matt gave Near a funny look and shook his head, "that's not the point. Remember the consequences of that stupid present?"

Mello shook his head, "not really."

"We had to do double the chore work and help take care of the toddlers for a whole month."

"Ohhh yeaaaah," Mello smiled as it dawned on him but then began to sulk. "That wasn't very fun."

"And it was all your fault!" Matt shouted at him, his eyebrows knitted together. "If you hadn't suggested that we get Roger a present from both of us, only _you _would've been in trouble."

Near stared down at the floor, watching his toes twiddle around each other, "I told you to get separate presents."

"Okay, okay! Enough of this," Mello waved his hands before taking off his shirt and pants. "Stop staring at me, Near!"

"Maybe if Mello didn't change in front of us we wouldn't be staring at him, so it's his own fault," Near was unfazed by his gritting teeth and scowling face.

Mello tugged the leather pants on and then put on the black vest, buttoning it up. He then grabbed his new black boots out of the closet and began to shove his feet inside of them.

"Well, are you two going to get dressed or not?"

Matt contemplated on whether to go along with Mello or turn over in the bed and go to sleep.

"I'm waiting!" Mello tapped his now boot foot against the floor.

Matt licked at his dry lips before sighing, "only if Near goes."

Near almost fell over in shock, "what? Why me?"

"Yeah, why him?" Mello crossed his arms over his chest but then went to the dresser to pull out his black gloves, slipping them on his hands.

"Near needs some social interaction and he might be my voice of reason if things get too crazy," Matt nodded his head, standing up from the bed now.

"Voice of reason?" Near looked confused as he shifted in place.

"Yeah, because you know how manipulative Mello is and with you there, I'll be able to snap out of his manipulating ways," Matt grinned at Mello who just pouted angrily in return.

Near felt his stomach doing flip-flops as he looked at the very eager to leave Mello, and the "please don't leave me with him" Matt.

"I guess I could-"

"Great! Now let's get you dressed," Matt tugged at a scared Near's hand, pulling him towards the closet.

Once Matt was finished with Near, the poor boy looked at his traumatized self in the mirror.

Mello gave a whistle, "you know…you don't look half bad."

"I think you look great, Near!" Matt exclaimed, throwing his arms around his shoulders and hugging him.

Near looked like he was ready to bolt from the room at any second. Matt had managed to get him into a pair of dark jeans and a white button down dress shirt, with another white shirt underneath. It wasn't _that _bad, but to Near it was awful.

"I don't know," Near said with uncertainty in his voice.

"You look great, let's go!"

Matt was already dressed in his black and white striped shirt with a vest on top. His ensemble included his black boots, gloves, and of course goggles.

"I'm not waiting for you pansies anymore," Mello grumbled, checking his hair in the mirror one last time.

"We're ready, we're ready," Matt waved a gloved hand at him.

"Just how are we going to get inside a club without proper identification?" Near asked, knowing that they would need I.D.'s to get inside.

Mello pulled out three I.D. cards and gave one to both Matt and Near, "I have connections."

"Who do _you _know on such short notice to get these?" Matt glanced down at his fake I.D. that looked nothing like him. "And this isn't me."

"Of course it isn't," Mello sighed, ignoring the jealous tone in Matt's voice and shoving his own I.D. into his back pocket. "You think I'm that stupid to use our actual photos?"

"No but-"

"No one will question it, they'll think we had our hair dyed or something, it happens. Now enough bullshi-"

Near cut in, "swearing isn't necessary."

"What_EVER_!" Mello screeched and both Near and Matt winced. "Let's go before Watari catches us."

Near groaned, "that makes it ten times worse."

"It'll be fine," Matt flung his arm over Near's shoulder, pulling him close, "I'll protect you."

Mello gave a loud "hmph" and turned his back on them, going to the window and yanking it open. He looked down and shook his head, they were several stories up, it wouldn't do. But in the back of his mind he already had an exit plan that was sure to win and they wouldn't get caught.

* * *

"You're lucky that Matt is good with hacking or else we would've definitely been caught!" Near was whiter than usual, his face and voice in a panic state.

Mello's plan had ultimately failed as he couldn't get past the security system that L and Watari had originally set up. Thankfully Matt was such a good hacker that he was able to override the system and shut it down quickly so they could make it out with no detection, before the system would come back on again.

"So I had a slight mishap, we made it out," Mello laughed and inside he was for once grateful for Matt's presence.

"This sooo better be worth it," Matt frowned as the three of them began their walk down the road before hailing down a taxi cab.

"Oh man, I can't believe we actually got in!" Matt exclaimed as the three of them walked inside the club.

Light strobes were swirling different colors and making them bounce off the darkened walls. People were everywhere dancing and grinding to the techno beat that was echoing throughout the club. The bass of the music vibrated throughout their whole body and one couldn't help but tap their foot to it.

"What?!" Near shouted, instantly going deaf.

"WE GOT IN!"

"WHAT?!"

"NEVERMIND!"

"YOU WANT MY MIND?!"

Matt smacked his forehead and took hold of Near's hand, pulling him along so they could keep up with Mello.

Mello was strutting his way through the club, a smirk on his face while giving a few winks at a couple of girls who were giggling and pointing in his direction. When he winked at them they giggled some more and began to squeal. Matt rolled his eyes at this and Near began processing every little detail to his memory for later use.

Mello eventually led them to a booth on the second level of the club. It was a tad quieter but not much. At least they were able to hear each other talk. Mello had said that this was also part of his connections that he had and connections indeed as a waitress came up to them shortly and asked what they would want to drink.

"Three beers," Mello told her.

"I want water," Near insisted, his nose wrinkling at anything alcoholic going into his system.

Mello sighed and held up two gloved fingers, "two beers and one water."

The waitress gave him a cheeky smile before flouncing off to get their drinks. She returned a few minutes later, placing the drinks onto small napkins before taking off.

"Well…cheers!" Mello lifted up his glass along with Matt, both of them taking a big gulp. Near watched as their faces contorted and twisted before both of them turned their heads and spewed the burning and bitter drink out.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Matt choked, spitting some more to get the taste out. "It tastes like piss!"

"You know what urine tastes like?" Near asked, taking a small sip of his cold water.

Matt glared and made a move to grab Near's water, but Near clutched his glass and held it away, "you wanted your alcohol."

"Bah, get the waitress over here to get us some water," Matt coughed and Mello motioned for the lady to bring them two glasses of water.

"How can adults drink that?!" Mello looked horrified, pushing the glass of beer away. The waitress brought two glasses of water and set them down before taking off again. Both Matt and Mello chugged their water down and sighed in relief.

"…didn't think it would be _that _bad," Mello drowned the rest of his water before slamming the glass onto the table.

Matt slowly finished his water and sighed, "so what do we do now?"

"Sit here and chill, like men do," Mello nodded his head and Near looked confused.

"What does Mello mean? I thought the idea of a club was to interact with other people and-"

Mello crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, "do _you _want to interact with other people? If so, be my guest."

Near looked down at all the people who were dancing and he shuddered, pulling his knees up to his chest and curling down into the booth.

"That's what I thought," Mello laughed at him.

"Give him a break, he can't handle all of this, can you?" Matt asked, trying to comfort Near as best he could. Matt eventually got Near to sit up again and both just looked at Mello who was sitting across from them.

"I guess we could dance," Mello mused, but he really didn't feel like dancing with anybody. If anything if people wanted to be in his presence then they would have to come to him, not the other way around.

"That would be a fun to watch," Matt teased, picturing Mello busting a move on the dance floor.

Mello and Matt soon began to get into an argument, over dancing, and Near sat there already making up his mind on who would win this time. What Near didn't expect was that neither of them would win because a big, burly drunk man soon stumbled his way towards the trio.

Near shuddered as the drunk man's eyes locked in on him and a nasty grin began to form on his face. Near tried to get their attention but Matt and Mello were too busy arguing over who could dance the best.

"Hey there, what's your name?" the drunk man asked the closer he got.

Near began to sweat but kept his mouth shut.

"I asked you a question," the man barked at him but then laughed. "Oh you're the silent type aren't you? That's too cute!"

Near began to hum softly to himself, his hand automatically going to his hair as his fingers gripped the soft strands tightly.

"Well then you must be gay because there's no way any girls would be into you but guys on the other hand," the man chuckled as he stumbled more closer to Near, sending the white-haired boy into more of a panic.

"Why don't you and me leave these two bozos here by themselves and I can show you what a _real _good time is," the drunk, greasy-haired man suggested, his eyebrows wiggling up and down.

At that moment both Matt and Mello had stopped their arguing as they felt another presence at their table. They glanced over to see the burly man hovering over Near, his hands on the shaking boy's shoulders and a very suggestive look in his eyes.

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF HIM!" both Matt and Mello shouted together. Matt yanked Near towards him, pulling the shaking boy against him while Mello stood up, almost knocking the table over and pulling a gun out of his back pocket.

"What the fuck?!" Matt shouted, his eyes widening at the sight of the gun.

"Touch him again and I'll blow your damn brains out!" Mello shouted, pressing the gun against the man's forehead.

The man began to sweat, eyes crossing as he looked up at the gun that was against his forehead, "I can talk to whoever I want too!"

People were now gasping and some screamed as they heard Mello cock the gun and push it harder into the drunk's head.

"Not him, he's off limits! I suggest you find someone else to spread your STD's around with!"

Matt began to gently tug and move Near away from the scene, whispering in his ear, "come on, let's get out of here."

"But what about Mello?" Near looked frightened because a very disgusting drunk man was hitting on him, Mello had a gun, and a crowd was beginning to form around them.

"He'll be fine, we'll meet up with him down the road," Matt assured him. "Mello's not that stupid to blow him in the head…at least I hope not."

The last part was muttered under his breath and Near didn't hear it as they quickly began to make their way towards the exit.

"I-I…" the drunk man stuttered, afraid of the crazed look in the blonde's eyes. He jerked away and stumbled backwards. "You're fucking crazy! Have the little freak for all I care!"

Mello growled and shot a round into the air and people began to scream, running away and ducking under tables. Mello was about to shoot another one, directly at the man but the police had swarmed inside and now the club was in complete chaos.

"Shit," Mello swore as he lowered his gun, "THIS ISN'T OVER YET!"

With that he began to push past people, finding the nearest exit before dodging outside and running to a safe location. He promised in the back of his mind that he would find that man again and make him pay. No one called Near a freak except him and _only _him.

Mello eventually met up with his fellow peers and pocketed the gun where he had it previously concealed the whole time they were in the club. Matt was still trying to get Near to calm down, gently rubbing his shoulders and back, telling him that it was okay. Matt looked up and saw Mello walking towards them and his anger began to pour out.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Matt grabbed the front of Mello's vest and began to shake him. "Doing what you did, are you insane?!"

"I didn't kill him," was all Mello could offer as he held up his hands, letting Matt jerk him around before he was shoved backwards. Mello smoothed his hands over his vest and looked around. They were standing at a corner and to their left was a small coffee shop.

"I don't know where you got it, how you got it, just…" Matt shook his head and walked back over to Near, putting his arm around his shoulder.

Near looked peaceful again, not just at Matt's presence beside him, but at Mello returning back to them again. It was weird because he normally didn't get along with Mello, even though he had no real grudge against him, it was Mello who always felt the need to harbor anger against him.

"Maybe we should just get back before Watari finds that we are gone," Near suggested, wanting to end this little rendezvous adventure.

"Yeah, besides the police might be trying to find me," Mello grinned, proud at this.

He began walking and Matt and Near followed closely behind, Matt baffled, "what? The police?"

"Heh, yeah. I managed to get out of there though, I even got to fire off this thing," Mello patted his back pocket.

Matt didn't have time to respond as Mello hopped a fence, leaving Matt and Near to struggle to climb over said fence. Mello said that taking the back roads where people won't see them would be best, especially if the cops were out and looking for him.

The three eventually made it back safely to headquarters. They almost were spotted by the police but they had ducked down behind a trashcan before continuing on their way. Matt had to deactivate the security system and they all safely snuck back inside before the system was reactivated.

"Ha, we did it!" Mello cheered, running down the hall and towards their room.

Near and Matt were also feeling the adrenaline and excitement of sneaking out, getting into trouble, and making it back safely without being caught. Or at least they thought so when they heard a small cough. All three of them froze and turned around to face a very small and very young person.

"Where were you three at? What are you doing?"

"Go back to bed, brat!" Mello snapped, making a shooing motion with his hands.

"Misa would, but Misa could also tell Watari that you three were sneaking around," the little blonde girl began to toy with them.

Mello glared at her, "how do you even know we've been somewhere?"

"Because Misa's been out many times and Misa knows the difference between daytime wear and nighttime wear," Misa smiled, her eyes lighting up in delight at being able to catch the three of them. It really was a fluke because she was asleep but had woke up to voices in the hallway. And being the curious little thing that she was, she had to see what was up.

"She's good," Near said more or less to himself.

Matt squatted down to her level and removed his goggles, "well, what do you want?"

"What does Misa want?" Misa tilted her head in confusion, blinking a couple of times.

"Yeah, to keep you quiet and not mention this to anyone or why else would you tell Watari?" Matt felt like smacking himself in the head at the little girl's moment of idiocy.

"Ohhh…hmm…Misa wants…" Misa thought about this but then shook her head. "Misa doesn't know but when Misa does, she will let you know."

"But that's-" Mello began and Matt held up a hand to silence him.

"Deal, but you can only ask one thing and we'll do it but you can't tell _anyone _about this, got it?"

Misa nodded her head in understanding before shuffling back to bed, "remember you promised or Misa will tell!"

"What do you think she has up her sleeve?" Near asked as the three made it to their room.

Matt shrugged, "who knows, but it can't be all that bad, can it?"

* * *

A/N: What can I say? I kinda wanted a bit of MxNxM moment haha! :D

Nothing else really to say except I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted/etc...until next time! :)


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